One of the dearest and most timeless books of children’s literature is Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. While nine and ten-year-olds in the 3rd-5th class are enjoying the book right now, yet many adults (myself included) have also fallen in love with it! It is certainly a book that one grows into, not out of.
The stories about Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad began when Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), a Scottish-born writer and Secretary of the Bank of England, captured a mole one day, intending to give it to his young son, Alastair, as a pet. An unknowing housekeeper killed the mole before it could be given, and feeling great regret at her mistake, suggested that Grahame tell Alastair stories about a mole to “bring him back to life.” Grahame agreed, and thus were born a long series of bedtime stories about Mole and his friends. When Alastair vacationed away from home, the stories continued through letters. A governess, finding the tales remarkable, sent them to Grahame’s wife, who collected and kept them. Eventually the work was sent in for publication and, after some initial rejection, The Wind in the Willows was put in print and received by readers with tremendous praise.
It is interesting to ponder what makes this classic such a win. For one, Grahame’s mastery of language, along with his love for the wonder of nature, paints vivid scenes that truly warm the imagination. As much as students (and adults) may initially balk at several pages in a row of “description,” it is worth it to train our impatient minds to soak up and be transported to such tangible places as the lively River Bank, the ominous Forest, and the flamboyant Toad Hall. In a way, it’s similar to learning to like vegetables—“the more you chew it, the better it tastes”! Grahame himself commented on the importance of wonder and imagination in his books: “The most priceless possession of the human race is the wonder of the world. Yet, latterly, the utmost endeavors of mankind have been directed toward the dissipation of that wonder…Science analyses everything to its component parts, and neglects to put them together again… But what is the use of living in a world devoid of wonderment?”
Another highlight of The Wind in the Willows is Grahame’s remarkable crafting of his characters. One can’t help understanding, sympathizing with, and delighting in their quirks and virtues. Mole is humble, earnest, and stubbornly loyal; Rat is good-natured and quick to show compassion and hospitality; Badger, though a single-minded stoic, uses those traits in his favor when his friends are at need. And even the notorious Mr. Toad, whose recklessness and vanity are not exactly worth imitating, perfectly depicts what happens when a creature gives himself over to his self-deceptions and honestly believes them. It is honesty, in fact, that Grahame points out as a primary virtue of the animals in his stories: “Every animal, by instinct, lives according to his nature. Thereby he lives wisely, and betters the tradition of mankind. No animal is ever tempted to belie his nature. No animal, in other words, knows how to tell a lie. Every animal is honest.” While this idea could of course be taken too far, perhaps this honesty is what makes Grahame’s characters so refreshing: they act according to nature, instead of rebelling against it and “doing their own thing,” like so many heroes in media today. Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad are entirely predictable, each in his own way—and yet their adventures are no less delightful or exciting for it.
If you’ve never read The Wind in the Willows, you ought to treat yourself and pick up a copy, whether as a family read-aloud or as a delightful evening wind-down for yourself. (I especially recommend the edition illustrated by Tasha Tudor, if you can get your hands on one!) The delight of Kenneth Grahame’s wonderful, moving, and vivacious world will not disappoint.
In Christ,
Miss Hahn
