March 2010 Guest Editor Michael Foreman remembers:
"One of our teachers, Oscar Outlaw, realised that most of the class had no books at home. He started bringing in his own books and reading to us on Friday afternoons if it was too wet for games. First he read The Wind in the Willows. And then, Treasure Island. What a treat! We looked forward to rain."
LoveReading4Kids adds:
An absolutely delightful tale of four animals that become the firmest of friends and beat the wretched and wicked weasels; but not before the friends have to rescue the devil-may-care Toad time and time again from his misadventures. Brian Jacques, whose love of the story shines through in a marvellous Introduction to the book, believes it possesses that quintessential English charm and fascination that children of all ages love. And as for Toad, well he’s ‘Billy Bunter, Just William and Dick Turpin with a dash of Bertie Wooster thrown in’ says Jacques. In this terrific pocket size Puffin edition there’s lots of additional material at the end of the book including an author profile, a guide to who’s who in The Wind in the Willows plus many related activities to do beyond the book. An unabridged audio is also available of this title from Puffin.
The Wind In The Willows (with an Introduction by Brian Jacques) Synopsis
When Mole goes boating with Ratty instead of doing his spring-cleaning, he discovers a whole new world. As well as adventures on the river and in the Wild Wood, there are high jinks on the open road with that reckless ruffian, Mr Toad of Toad Hall. Can they join together and beat the wretched weasels once and for all?
Kenneth Grahame was born in Edinburgh, Scotland but in early childhood, after being orphaned, moved to live with his grandmother on the banks of the River Thames in southern England. He was an outstanding pupil at St Edward's School in Oxford and wanted to attend Oxford University but was not allowed to do so by his guardian on grounds of cost. Instead he was sent to work at the Bank of England in 1879, and rose through the ranks until retiring as its Secretary in 1908 due to ill health. In addition to ill health, Grahame's retirement was precipitated in 1903 by a strange, possibly political, shooting incident at the bank. Grahame was shot at three times, all of them missed. Grahame's marriage to Elspeth Thomson was an unhappy one. They had only one child, a boy named Alastair, who was born blind in one eye and was plagued by health problems throughout his short life. Alastair eventually committed suicide on a railway track while an undergraduate at Oxford University, two days before his 20th birthday on 7 May, 1920. Out of respect for Kenneth Grahame, Alastair's demise was recorded as an accidental death. Kenneth Grahame died in Pangbourne, Berkshire in 1932.
