New Releases by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows is a children''s novel by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality and camaraderie, and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames Valley.

Kenneth Grahame 8 March 1859 - 6 July 1932) was a British writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows (1908), one of the classics of children''s literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films Kenneth Grahame was born on 8 March (1859) in Edinburgh, Scotland. When he was a little more than a year old, his father, an advocate, received an appointment as sheriff-substitute in Argyllshire at Inveraray on Loch Fyne. Kenneth loved the sea and was happy there, but when he was 5, his mother died from complications of childbirth, and his father, who had a drinking problem, gave over care of Kenneth, his brother Willie, his sister Helen and the new baby Roland to Granny Ingles, the children''s grandmother, in Cookham Dean in the village of Cookham in Berkshire. There the children lived in a spacious, if dilapidated, home, "The Mount", on spacious grounds in idyllic surroundings, and were introduced to the riverside and boating by their uncle, David Ingles, curate at Cookham Dean church. This delightful ambiance, particularly Quarry Wood and the River Thames, is believed, by Peter Green, his biographer, to have inspired the setting for The Wind in the Willows. He was an outstanding pupil at St Edward''s School in Oxford. During his early years at St. Edwards, a sports regimen had not been established and the boys had freedom to explore the old city with its quaint shops, historic buildings, and cobblestone streets, St Giles'' Fair, the idyllic upper reaches of the River Thames, and the nearby countryside.

First published in 1908, The Wind in the Willows is a literary classic which details a fantasy-esque adventure of four anthropomorphic animals (Toad, Rat, Badger and Mole) as they travel throughout their forest home. It is a classic novel that expertly details many large themes surrounding the human condition. Heavy with metaphor and symbolism, it is regarded as one the greatest books ever penned, not just for its thrilling subject matter and beautiful imagery, but also for its larger commentary on human emotions, social interaction and morality.

The Wind in the Willows (Bulgarian edition)

The Wind in the Willows (Korean edition)

Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) was a Scottish writer. From 1859 through 1908, he worked at the Bank of England, ending his career as its Secretary. Grahame''s output is slight but includes two of the great classics of children''s literature, "The Reluctant Dragon" (1898) and The Wind in the Willows (1908). The latter, his magnum opus, is a idyllic tale of the adventures of four animal friends: the Water Rat, Mole, Badger, and the irrepresible Mr. Toad. The book derives from bed-time stories he told his son, Alistair, who was the inspiration for Toad. Trashed by critics, it has none- the less been loved by generations of the and young at heart.

A brief, simplified retelling of the episode in "The Wind in the Willows" during which Mole goes to visit his friend Badger in the Wild Wood and gets lost in a snow storm with Rat.