Wind in the Willows

Author: Kenneth Grahame

Brand: Penguin Random House

Color: Multicolor

Binding: paperback

Format: Deckle Edge

Number Of Pages: 240

Release Date: 26-07-2005

model number: FBA-|296906

Part Number: FBA-|296906

Details: Product Description
Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows is one of the most celebrated works of literature for children, and this Penguin Classics edition contains notes and an introduction by Gillian Avery.Meek little Mole, wilful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant, boastful Toad: over one hundred years since their first appearance in 1908, they've become emblematic archetypes of eccentricity, folly and friendship. And their misadventures - in gypsy caravans, stolen sports cars, and their beloved Wild Wood - continue to capture readers' imaginations and warm their hearts long after they grow up. Begun as a series of letters from Kenneth Grahame to his son, The Wind in the Willows is a timeless tale of animal cunning and human camaraderie.This Penguin Classics edition features an appendix of the letters in which Grahame first related the exploits of Toad, and new introduction by children's literature historian Gillian Avery.Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) was an English bank official, writer, author of The Wind in the Willows (1908), set in the idyllic English countryside. The work established Grahame's international reputation as a writer of children's books and has deeply influenced fantasy literature.If you enjoyed The Wind in the Willows, you might enjoy JM Barrie's Peter Pan, also available in Penguin Classics.'A charming book'Terry Jones
Review
“It is what I call a Household Book . . . a book which everybody in the household loves, and quotes continually ever afterwards; a book which is read aloud to every new guest.”
–A. A. Milne
About the Author
Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) was born in Edinburgh, but grew up with relatives in Berkshire where he developed his love for the countryside surrounding the upper parts of the River Thames. He was educated at St Edward's in Oxford, but instead of going on to Oxford University he joined the Bank of England, where he rose to become Secretary. He wrote several books including
The Golden Age and
Dream Days which includes the short story
'The Reluctant Dragon' (later made into a Disney movie). Kenneth Grahame developed the character of Toad in
The Wind in the Willows to amuse his young son, Alistair. It was published in 1908 and still remains a best-loved children's classic.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter I

The River Bank

The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said, “Bother!” and “O blow!” and also “Hang spring-cleaning!” and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat. Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for the steep little tunnel which answered in his case to the gravelled carriage-drive owned by animals whose residences are nearer to the sun and air. So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged, and then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, “Up we go! Up we go!” till at last, pop! his snout came out into the sunlight and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow.

“This is fine!” he said to himself. “This is better than whitewashing!” The sunshine struck hot on his fur, soft breezes caressed his heated brow, and after the seclusion of the cellarage he had lived in so long the carol of happy birds fell on his dulled hearing almost like a shout. Jumping off all his four legs at once, in the joy of living a

EAN: 9780143039099

Package Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.0 x 0.7 inches

Languages: English