Title: The Wind in the Willows
Author: Kenneth Grahame
Filed Under: Read-Aloud, Chapter Book
A. A. Milne famously said,
One does not argue about The Wind in the Willows. The young man gives it to the girl with whom he is in love, and, if she does not like it, asks her to return his letters. The older man tries it on his nephew, and alters his will accordingly. The book is a test of character. We can't criticize it, because it is criticizing us. But I must give you one word of warning. When you sit down to it, don't be so ridiculous as to suppose that you are sitting in judgment on my taste, or on the art of Kenneth Grahame. You are merely sitting in judgment on yourself. You may be worthy: I don't know, But it is you who are on trial.”
This Library Project is to catalogue books that fall under this rubric: They judge you; it is you who are on trial! Oh, there is room for personal preference, of course. But “the democracy of the dead” (Chesterton, an author we will visit anon) has spoken. There are some books that are a test of character, and you can excuse your taste, but do not fail to put them on the A-list!
Milne's son Christopher remembered:
A book that we all greatly loved and admired and read aloud or alone, over and over and over: The Wind in the Willows. This book is, in a way, two separate books put into one. There are, on the one hand, those chapters concerned with the adventures of Toad; and on the other hand there are those chapters that explore human emotions – the emotions of fear, nostalgia, awe, wanderlust. My mother was drawn to the second group, of which “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” was her favourite, read to me again and again with always, towards the end, the catch in the voice and the long pause to find her handkerchief and blow her nose. My father, on his side, was so captivated by the first group that he turned these chapters into the children's play, Toad of Toad Hall. In this play one emotion only is allowed to creep in: nostalgia.
Thus, you yourself, a rational grown-up, are expected to sit down and read the whole thing. (But slowly, and with the trusting mind of the child!) Then, taking the temperature of your offspring, you may choose to introduce them to it in its entirety as well (are they bookish and docile — or, will their strong imaginations be enough to quell their restlessness?), or, wisely, to capture them with the adventurous bits (even showing them the movie of Toad of Toad Hall or enticing them to take parts in Milne's play).
In the end, your goal is to read the whole thing aloud (don't worry — later childhood is a fine time for this. Be patient), enjoying the rollicking aspects but also luxuriating in the “numinous” parts (as Lewis called especially the chapter of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn).
For this book is about life and friendship.
In the chapter called Dolce Domum, which we might pass over as a bit boring, we find a true crisis of friendship and understanding. Rat experiences a moment of conscience deeper than in many adult novels. He is striken when he realizes he hasn't listened to his friend, and he quickly, decisively makes amends.
Our culture gives lip-service to diversity, but Grahame shows us how Badgers and Moles can get along. We need to recover a sense of place, and this is what The Wind in the Willows shows us — place sanctified by the love of friends.
Toad suffers from arrested development, and his friends not only rescue (and sometimes enable) him, but in the end, his friendship for others redeems him.
Most of all, it's just a delight to read.
This is the kind of book I want to talk about here on The LMLD Library Project, but I'm torn. In one way, it's so famous — I can't believe I'm adding anything by writing about it; it's not possible that you haven't heard of it already! On the other, I feel strongly that a book like this becomes invisible, completely forgotten, precisely on account of its popularity. For goodness sake, the cast of Monty Python did a movie of it! On Amazon, you are offered a “premium reading experience” in one version (that makes me tired just reading the description), and in another, a teacher's guide with fill-in-the-blank-style lessons.
Please, just read it. Enjoy it! Talk about it if you like — or don't!
The real difficulty is to choose amongst the many wonderfully illustrated versions, because every illustrator has taken his turn at this book. Of course, the original Shepherd pictures are the best, in my opinion, because he was a master at that paradox, detailed suggestion. The child's imagination is best encouraged with a deft hand, and so often, illustrators indulge their own vision at the expense of their audience.
But there are so many good ones to choose from. This one is lush, but I object to the annotation aspect as a children's book. You can try to find the Arthur Rackham version (with Milne's introduction) second-hand. You need this book in hardback and probably in more than one edition.
Just be sure you don't get an abridged one — a smoothed-out, blandified faux Wind in the Willows. This is a book you can dip into but not emasculate.
What is the Like Mother, Like Daughter Library Project?
H. says
Pst. It's not Mole but the Water Rat who has the struck conscience in Dolce Domum (one of my very favorite chapters!), I believe.
Our copy of the Wind in the Willows is published by the Folio Society, and is perhaps the most gorgeous physical book we own: http://www.foliosociety.com/book/WND/wind-in-the-…
[Consider the used market here! But watch out because there are two different versions available, and you may get Folio Society Acquisition Disorder.]
_Leila says
H, thanks, fixed! Daft.
Alice says
Oh, Dulce Domum is my favorite chapter! We read it on Christmas once as a family. (I think the year before we read A Child's Christmas in Wales, somewhat inevitably). But it always also makes me sad and makes me think about my late grandmother, because after her stroke, when she was newly in the nursing home, my aunt looked up from reading her Dulce Domum to find her crying. Being a hobbity family we are deeply attached to our little homes.
Alice says
…which is not to say that my grandmother's garden contained statues of “Garibaldi, and the infant Samuel, and Queen Victoria, and other heroes of modern Italy.”
Dixie says
There seem to be such an array of beautiful editions out there! I very highly recommend the one we have, which is just stunning: http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Willows-Sterling-Illus…
Margaret says
Inga Moore has a beautiful illustrated version, though it is abridged (I assume to make room for all the beautiful full-page pictures). Perhaps it would be worthwhile to use those illustrations alongside a full text of the book.
Sara says
We have this version—I agree the illustrations are beautiful. I've read both versions to our children. They love Wind in the Willows.
kimberlee says
Leila, I just love your way with words about beloved books.
“Detailed suggestion” – I've been looking for that phrase for a long time. I love it.
And goodness, I can't abide the inclination of 'learned' folks to make 'lesson plans' and 'study guides' out of marvelous books. I am so with you on “-just read it. Enjoy it! Talk about it if you like — or don't!” That's how we do so very many books.
Thank you for your writing! Always a blessing.
Carol Kennedy says
Auntie Leila,
Now I am convinced. Although I had heard of WitW I have never read it…just excerpts and stuff. Now I want to read it to my kids, but I am wondering if you would recommend an audio version of it. We are looking for a new book for the car (we recently listened to The Hobbit and Carry on Mr. Bowditch and need something new in which to be absorbed).
Does WitW lend itself to audio books or is it better read aloud by me? Any version/narrator you recommend?
H. says
At the least, here's a BBC production read by a narrator, in 10 – 15 minute episodes (so quite abridged, admittedly). http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/schoolradio/subject…
I've heard a different adaption done by the BBC which was a radio play earlier this year, but this one is quite charming.
Carol Kennedy says
Thanks! I actually found a whole bunch of versions on Audible, all unabridged and including one by a family favorite Jim Weiss, but I suspect this story lends itself to a British accent. We so enjoyed the version of the The Hobbit that we listened to!
Kym says
Love, love, LOVE the Terry Jones version. Some of the reviews on Audible mention trouble understanding his accent, but we found it perfect. We still have our original cassette set that we babied lest it break- we were delighted to find it on Audible. We're a Jim Weiss loving family too, but I cannot imagine anyone else but Terry Jones capturing Mr. Toad on his wild ride.
Rachel says
It is, bar none, the best children's book ever. My mother always said that you could tell a children's classic by whether or not adults loved it too. Toad of Toad hall is my favourite persona. Mr. Grahame drew his character with all its weaknesses and strengths masterfully. And I agree, the Ernest Shepherd illustrated version is the best one.
sibyl says
I never had the intense pleasure of meeting WIW as a child, but have absolutely loved reading it aloud to the children. It is fitting that Milne loved it so much, since Winnie the Pooh is much like it but narrower in scope.
What a British book! The characters are so perfectly English and the humor is also. Our version is illustrated by Eric Kincaid, which I especially like, as he puts a lot of illustrations along the edges of the text.
I think my favorite part of the book is when Toad escapes prison dressed as a washerwoman, ending up on a barge trying to wash the bargee's wife's underwear. It's just delightful writing. Also, the illustration of Badger's house is entrancing.
CarlynB says
I have the 75th Anniversary Edition. It is one of my permanent “nightstand books.” I must have been 10 or 11 the first time I read the book and my favorite chapter has always been “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.”
Susan says
Sometimes it seems that the ladies of LMLD are psychic. Earlier today this gem of book popped into my mind for some reason that I can't remember. But I pondered it as one of the classics which I did not encounter as a child, but which my boys adored as we read it aloud last winter. And I'd never seen the A.A. Milne quote either, but I've got to tell you that that author has been on my mind as well. We read “Poems for the Very Young” during a Labor Day camping trip, and my children, not very young at all, truly loved it and so did I (also not very young).
Mamabearjd says
Please continue to post the ones that seem obvious. That's very clever, your observation that they almost become invisible from popularity. My mother was an English teacher and yet I never encountered WIW until I became a parent – I knew of it, of course, but had never read it. I have it on my Kindle and have been wondering which hard copy to look for, so you are so helpful as always.
Kelly says
Oh, you must, must, must get a copy of the Robert Ingpen illustrated Wind in the Willows- it is truly amazing! We read The Wind in the Willows this Spring and fell completely, utterly in love with. Quite simple, the best children's book I've ever read- I consider it a great tragedy that I missed out on it for 38 years! http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Willows-Sterling-Illus…
Fatima says
Oh, we just started watching the TV episodes of this story. But the videos are sometimes too loud (adventures of the Toad) for a 3 year old. Waiting for the time when I can start reading the book to her.
Laura says
I will need to look it up! I just stumbled onto an old book called Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield. Really good read and very thought provoking, even though it's a childrens' book. It was published in 1916 I think, but the sections describing her school experience are very applicable for today's children!
Melissa Diskin says
Oh, we love Understood Betsy at our house!
Mrs. B. says
My children absolutely love the Cosgrove Hall production from 1983 using sort of animated puppets (here for instance:
) It's not a cartoon and it's not loud at all – it's really a wonderful show I myself enjoy a lot.
The kids are in love with crazy Toad, and have acted his adventures so many times, and even worked hard to build his cars with cardboard. I was not sure it was a good idea to introduce them to a video before reading the book, but when we did it I considered them too young to really follow the book – though it's entirely possible I'm underestimating them… Now I know they'll always have those images in mind when reading the book, but it doesn't bother me, because that movie is really very good (when I read it as a girl I actually had no clear idea of what a mole was, what a badger was, and the black and white Shepherd drawings weren't enough to fill my imagination gaps.)
And since LMLD is a fan of First Things, I'll link to a piece by Alan Jacobs reviewing the annotated edition Leila links to at the end: http://www.firstthings.com/article/2009/10/beyond…
Briana says
I actually have been reading it aloud as the first RA of our school year. We love it. I have the annotated version (and others) but the annotated has really interesting bits of info.
Mrs. B. says
I just happened on a perfect quote to illustrate this ongoing Library Project:
“Read the best books first, or you may not have the chance to read them at all” Henry David Thoreau
Thank you, Leila, for helping to spread beauty!
Joy says
I so agree about all of your thoughts on books in general and The Wind in the Willows, specifically. Dolce Domum is one of my very favorite chapters of all books I've ever read. I re-read that chapter regularly. It speaks so strongly of home and friendship and I am reminded each time of the importance of listening to my loved ones and making quick amends when I have been too self-absorbed and ignored their needs. Thanks for reminding us of the beauty of this book.
Nancy says
I'll introduce one caveat into the discussion: I love this book read silently, or read aloud to older children — but the complex sentence structure renders it nearly impossible to read to younger children. I gave this to my oldest two for Christmas, not having read it for years . . . and it was not a great choice for their ages at the time.
Bridget says
I guess I have to give this one another try, because if I have been judged, then I have been found wanting. My kids and I just didn’t enjoy it. We trudged along, dutifully, for a couple of chapters, but then we gave up. No one was enjoying it. My oldest was 8 at the time. Now that he’s almost 10, maybe we’ll try it again this summer? It was just so very wordy (and I like wordy; wordy can be quite good; but not this wordy). The whole thing seemed a bit tedious.