The Wind in the Willows

I recently completed my first reading of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, and it was an engaging and imaginative children's classic that I would highly recommend to readers of all ages. I'm not quite sure why I skipped over it during my earlier years...I remember watching the Disney adaptation of the story as well as loving "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disneyland, but I'm sure that even if I had read it as a child I would have still found it to be delightful as a 28-year-old. The novel's collection of various tales touch upon the magic of seasons, pasttimes, foods, and friendship, and each of the story's main characters exhibits unique traits, interests, and flaws that I could strongly relate to in my own life: the badger's intolerance for social disruptions and appreciation for order, the mole's love for home and impatience with necessary work and sound advice, the rat's love for the outdoors and close friends, and Mr. Toad's pompous and self-serving tendencies masked by a good nature and brief bouts of humility. These tales offered a wide range of experiences for the reader, from entertaining sequences of humor and adventure to moments that sparked self-reflection and thoughtful consideration. To those that haven't read Kenneth Grahame's classic, I would highly encourage reading for the first time, and for those that haven't visited its stories for a while, I would also recommend re-visiting sometime soon!