The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame · first published 1908
56% recommend41% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Whimsical animal tale of friendship, the British countryside and Mr. Toad's comic misadventures. Rewards reading aloud to young children, and rereading as an adult for its cosy food and Christmas scenes.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The adventures of four amiable animals, Rat, Toad, Mole and Badger, along a river in the English countryside.
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…- Was assigned this in high school but didn't read it then. Read it now. I missed out; it's a good book, but I think it's relatively boring until Tom starts going out with Huck a bit more. 3.5/5 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame - Best book I've ever read on friendship and its importance. 4.5/5 Only surprises for me were Apollo 8, which I didn't like as much as I liked the Neil Armstrong biography; Tom Sawyer,…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗I've begun reading Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" to my 6 year-old boy, and it's been a wonderful experience for both of us— I've enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and just as much as our boy does. I hadn't read it since childhood, and I'd forgotten…
on “The Lost Pleasure of Reading Aloud” ↗…and What Alice Found There) are great. Then they (and you) can read The Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner, which opened up entirely new levels of the stories to me. For younger children, I'd say The Wind in the Willows.
on “What's your favorite children's book?” ↗> such tales as Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows (1908), where food denotes cosiness and plenty. This. Grahame’s account of the animals' Christmas meal is my favourite secular evocation in literature of the 'goodwill to all' spirit of Christmas. If…
on “Cowpie, gruel and midnight feasts: food in popular children’s literature” ↗…Subject area? For me, generally: * Your Money or Your Life - Joe Dominguez (MUST READ) * Is the American Dream Killing You? - Paul Stiles (MUST READ) * Working Ourselves to Death - Diane Fassel * Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (esp. the chapter The Wayfarer) * The Hobbit - Tolkien * The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy (amazing level of technical detail) * 1984 - George Orwell (published in 1949 but never…
on “Ask HN: Which books would you highly recommend?” ↗…Sheep? (Dick) A Scanner Darkly (Dick) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Adams) Dracula (Stoker) To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee) The Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas) Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare) The Wind in the Willows (Grahame) A Christmas Carol (Dickens) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass (Carroll) Watership Down (Adams) Gulliver's Travels (Swift) Animal Farm (Orwell)
on “Ask HN: What book had a big impact on you as a child or teenager?” ↗…have thought so. The lad's a little behind on appreciating narrative, though. Loves books, but can't yet focus on anything that isn't ~= pictures::words. It's fine; he'll get there. Love both Pooh, and Wind in the Willows, and will enjoy seeing how they take him.
on “Maybe the Default Settings Are Too High” ↗…Surprisingly nice. Some rough edges but I’m enjoying it. If my son was able to understand more than just that he’s spending time with me and that I’m making comforting noises I think he’s enjoy it. - The Wind in the Willows (Grahame): Stop everything you’re doing and go read this. Aloud, your kids if you have them but as a treat to yourself if you don’t. What a joy this is. ———— Some things I haven’t read that are on the…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗I just need The Wind in the Willows :)
on “Seven books I keep close because I love them” ↗The Tiger Who Came to Tea - targeted at the younger reader, but I mention it as there's a great lesson to be learned there though, for young and old alike... Of course Wind in The Willows is still one of my favourite books that I read as a kid and I can quote you large sections of it. Still read sections of it now and then... I loved the Willard Price "Adventure" series of books. I read…
on “Ask HN: What are some great books for children?” ↗Ah, Adrian Praetzellis! Such a fantastic reader. I also suggest his readings of... The Wind in the Willows: https://librivox.org/the-wind-in-the-willows-by-kenneth-grah... The Thirty-Nine Steps: https://librivox.org/the-thirty-nine-steps-by-john-buchan/
on “Free Audio Books: Download Great Books for Free” ↗HN lurker for years, created an account just to say how much I love the librivox recordings by Adrian Praetzellis. His "Wind in the Willows" is just wonderful.
on “Free public domain audiobooks” ↗The Wind in the Willows. As a child, I read it purely as an adventure story. Re-reading it as an adult, I realized it's actually two stories: one a eulogy to the British countryside, and the other a comedy about the self-inflicted…
on “The Good Soldier Švejk (2018)” ↗I've wondered about this with children's books. Classics like Alice in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows are still wildly popular. I can't believe nobody has been able to write anything better since those days. It must exist but I've never managed to find them in the library or know how to find them among…
on “The cultural decline of literary fiction” ↗You're at a good time for The Hobbit. Strangely I find that Winnie the Pooh does not age well and is an awkward read. The Wind in the Willows is good beginning around that age too.
on “Maybe the Default Settings Are Too High” ↗