The Wind in the Willows

I read this book as a part of my 2017 Classics Challenge.  The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame falls under #9- A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title.

This book for me was a 3.5.  A lot of the classics I chose for this year's challenge are books or authors that I feel like I should have read, but for some reason have never gotten around to actually reading.   I grew up loving the cartoon movie of The Wind in the Willows, and I remember the Disneyland ride with fondness.  I felt like it was slightly criminal that I had all of these wonderful childhood memories based around the book without ever having read it.  Unfortunately, I think I prefer the idea of the book more than the actual novel.  

I loved the characters.  Rat, Mole, Badger, and Mr. Toad are all very lovable in their own special way, but I found the plot to be too meandering and slow for my taste.  The chapters with the adventures of Mr. Toad were my favorite parts, but the story sidetracked quite a bit.  

For me, the best part of this book was actually the illustrations.  Shepard's illustrations bring The Wind in the Willows to life.  They are whimsical and absolutely adorable.