The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Includes character guide, quiz, author info, springtime activities, and glossary

Ho ho I am the Toad, the motor-car snatcher, the prison-breaker, the Toad who always escapes

Tired of spring cleaning, Mole ventures above ground into the warm sunshine, and happens upon his friend Ratty. Together they picnic on the sparkling, burbling river, brave the sinister Wild Wood in wintertime to visit the bad-tempered Badger, and take to the open road in a caravan with dear, silly old Toad. But when Toad's attention turns to motor cars, his reckless behavior goes from bad to worse. Badger, Rat, and Mole must save their friend from ruin, and Toad Hall from the clutches of the rascally Stoats and Weasels.

Kenneth Grahame was born in 1859 in Scotland. He was transferred to live with his grandparents at Berkshire, in a house near the River Thames, after his mother died, and he went to school in Oxford. He worked at the Bank of England during the day after leaving school and also produced essays, stories, and poetry, which he submitted to a variety of journals. In 1899, he married and had a son named Alastair. The Wind in the Willows began as a narrative for Alastair, and it was read aloud as a series of short stories.

Grahame only put them together in one book after that, which was released in 1908. In 1932, he died and was buried in Oxford.