Kenneth Grahame

La primavera ha llegado y el Topo sale presuroso de su madriguera para descubrir el mundo que le espera. Con sus nuevos amigos, la Rata, el Tejón, el Sapo y la Nutria, compartirá momentos maravillosos en la placida vida de la campiña inglesa.Publicada en 1908, esta obra de Kenneth Grahame, llena de vitalidad y optimismo, se ha convertido en un clasico de la literatura infantil.

Nacida en parte de los cuentos que Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) contaba por la noche a su hijo, "El viento en los sauces" (1908) no tardó en adquirir categoría de clásico. La naturaleza arquetípica de su escenario -por una parte, la Orilla del Rio, encarnacion de lo conocido y seguro; por otra, el Ancho Mundo, trasunto de lo desconocido y peligroso, pero tambien de la libertad- y el caracter idilico de la existencia de sus habitantes -la Rata, el Topo, el Tejon, el enloquecido señor Sapo-, son rasgos, en efecto, que aproximan mucho este escenario al de una infancia feliz. Asi, la obra de Grahame y el mundo acogedor que levanto en sus paginas han llamado y siguen llamando tanto a jovenes como adultos, habiendose consolidado como uno de esos pequeños paraisos de ficcion a los que se puede volver una y otra vez seguro de nunca verse defraudado.

The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said Bother! and O blow! and also Hang spring-cleaning! and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat. Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for the steep little tunnel which answered in his case to the gavelled carriage-drive owned by animals whose residences are nearer to the sun and air.

The Wind in the Willows is a childrens 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 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. In 1908, Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England. He moved back to Cookham, Berkshire, where he had been brought up and spent his time by the River Thames doing much as the animal characters in his book donamely, as one of the phrases from the book says, "simply messing about in boats"and wrote down the bed-time stories he had been telling his son Alistair. In 1909, Theodore Roosevelt, then President of the United States, wrote to Grahame to tell him that he had "read it and reread it, and have come to accept the characters as old friends". The novel was in its thirty-first printing when playwright A. A. Milne adapted a part of it for the stage as Toad of Toad Hall in 1929. In 2003, The Wind in the Willows was listed at number 16 on the BBCs survey The Big Read (font: Wikipedia)

Mole and Rat have a pleasant life by the river, where they talk, boat and wile away the days. The wise and private Mr Badger lives sedately in the Wild Woods, content in his solitude. Then there's Mr Toad - wealthy, impulsive and utterly obsessed with motor cars, he's always getting into scrapes and can't survive without the help of his friends. One of the most celebrated works of classic literature for children, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame remains a timeless tale of camaraderie, loyalty and bravery more than a hundred years after its first publication. With sixteen gorgeous colour illustrations by the celebrated Arthur Rackham, and an afterword by author David Stuart Davies.

"The Wind in the Willows" is a novel written by Scottish author Kenneth Grahame first published in 1908. Originally based on bedtime stories Grahame told his son, this novel soon grew into a beloved childrens classic. The childrens story uses the adventures of four anthropomorphic animals Mole, Rat, Badger, Toad, and their friends, to teach young readers larger lessons about morality.When the novel begins, Mole is at home doing spring cleaning, and he is quite bored with it. He casts down his cleaning instruments and runs to the surface to plow through rabbits along the roads and through grasses in the meadows to the river. It is at the river that Mole meets Rat, and the two form an immediate friendship. This friendship brings Rats friends Badger, Otter, and Toad into the story.The novel continues to follow the animals on their adventures and misadventures. Toad, a well-to-do heir, goes through innumerable fads such as his interest in motor-cars. However, when he steals a car, it is his undoing, He is arrested and sentenced to jail. He escapes from jail disguised as a washer-woman. Meanwhile, the other animals must deal with the bad reputations they have for being Toads friend.Toads home is taken over by menacing animals from the Wild Woods, and the four friends rally together to save the house. With the Wild Wooders driven away, Toad turns over a new leaf and becomes a respectable aristocrat. He is loved and admired by many. He deepens his friendship with Mole, Rat, and Badger; and, the four often take long walks and live well thereafter.

A curious Mole, a friendly Rat, a rascal and capricious Toad, a grumpy and wise Badger. The adventures of four animals divided between the need to live safely in their dens and the irrepressible desire for adventure, to know the Great World. A classic tale full of symbolic meanings.

The further adventures of five brothers and sisters growing up in the English countryside in the late nineteenth century. Sequel to "The Golden Age."

The much-loved classic tales of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad. When Mole goes boating with Ratty instead of doing his spring-cleaning, he discovers a whole new world. As well as adventures on the river and in the Wild Wood, there are high jinks on the open road with that reckless ruffian, Mr Toad of Toad Hall. Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad become the firmest of friends, but after Toad's latest escapade, can they join together and beat the wretched weasels once and for all? The Wind in the Willows read by James Saxon, Nigel Anthony, Nigel Lambert and June Whitfield.

Classic / British English (Available February 2008) This is the story of four friends Toad, Rat, Mole and Badger. Rat loves the river. Mole is often afraid. Badger likes to stay at home. But Toad is always looking for new adventures and some of his ideas are dangerous

Questo racconto ha incantato intere generazioni di lettori, bambini e adulti. Questa edizione, adattata e illustrata da Inga Moore, trasmette la magia delle incredibili avventure degli animali che abitano sulle rive del fiume, un microcosmo dagli orizzonti limitati ma che sa creare l'atmosfera di ampio respiro dei grandi libri. Lo spirito e il leggero umorismo anglosassone sanno catturare lettori senza confini e barriere di lingua. Eta di lettura: da 9 anni.

With the arrival of spring and fine weather outside, the good-natured Mole loses patience with spring cleaning. He has fled his underground home, emerging to take in the air and ends up at the river, which he has never seen before. Here he meets Rat, who at this time of year spends all his days in, on and close by the river. Rat takes Mole for a ride in his rowing boat. One summer day, Rat and Mole disembark near the grand Toad Hall and pay a visit to Toad. The beautiful childrens novel by Scottish novelist Kenneth Grahame.