I wrote a review of Honey for a Child’s Heart, by Gladys Hunt a few months ago. In that book, Mrs. Hunt mentions the book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame about a half-dozen times. It was one of her family’s favorite read aloud selections and her children made connections to that book throughout their lives. I had purchased that book about eight years ago, with the purpose of reading it aloud to my daughter. It didn’t take long to see that it was over the head of an eight year old, so I shelved it.

When I was reminded of it by Mrs. Hunt, I decided to give it a second try. The chapters are quite long, so we had to read them in halves. We got to chapter four before I quit reading it aloud. My oldest daughter did, in fact, enjoy it, but the rest, well, not so much. My five year old could barely stay awake for it. I did finish it myself and I must say, it is an adorable book.

Even though I’m adult, I fancied (as the British would say) visiting the charming, cozy, and cute world created by Kenneth Grahame. I guess I’m not yet too old to believe that animals can talk. I liked Mr. Badger the best, with Mr. Mole coming in as second favorite. I don’t believe that I would have enjoyed the book as a child, knowing my tastes back then. This gives me hope that one day, when my children are quite grown up, they will stumble upon this classic and find that maybe Mom was onto something after all.