You can keep your Harry Potter. The greatest children’s book is The Wind in the Willows. I’m pretty sure that subconsciously it’s one of the reasons why we bought a cabin in the woods near water – so I can live out my Edwardian fantasies of rowing and picnicing by the water after a hard day’s whitewashing.
It’s one of those books that has always been there. I was probably first aware of it via a childhood subscription to Storyteller magazine, enjoyed the David Jason-charged stop-motion Children’s ITV series, bought a Ladybird Classics edition on a school trip that became well-pawed, and grew up near Henley-on-Thames, which has a wonderful animatronic display of the story at its River & Rowing Museum.
Perhaps one of the reasons it remains so popular is that some argue that it isn’t really a children’s book at all – more a book for adults that can be enjoyed by children. After all, it covers themes such as addiction, consumerism and male bonding.
And certainly it’s a book where I continue to stumble across references in popular culture – the frightening whispers at the end of ‘Wastelands’ by Suede are from the ‘Wild Wood’ chapter, while Pink Floyd’s debut is named after the semi-supernatural ‘Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ chapter in which Ratty and Mole find the Otter’s son.
There are so many quotable phrases from Kenneth Graeme’s prose (“there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats”, “Badger hates Society, and invitations, and dinner, and all that sort of thing” and of course, “poop poop!”). Yet just as memorable are the famous illustrations of EH Shepard.
Shepard’s delightful pictures such as those of Mr Toad boasting, or in his motoring regalia, are just as entwined with Graeme’s tale as John Tenniel’s caricatures are with Alice in Wonderland, or Quentin Blake’s high energy watercolours are for the Roald Dahl canon. And yet, sadly Graeme commissioned (but did not live to see) Shepard bring his story to life.
So as part of my attempt to recreate an Edwardian idyll we’ve paid homage to Shepard in some of the wall art of our cabin. I sourced an old Wind in the Willows hardback from eBay, photographed some of my favourite pictures – from Mole and Ratty’s initial adventures through to Mr. Toad’s triumphant song – and mounted them on the walls.
I particularly like some of the parallels with Fritton – could that be Somerleyton Hall that Mole and Ratty are rowing past? Are they stocking up their hamper for a feast on Fritton Lake? Is Mole lost somewhere in Hillwood?
While we know that Graeme was inspired by the Thames Valley rather than the Norfolk Broads, hopefully the pictures will inspire some pastoral adventures of your own.