A delightful tale of Mole, Ratty, Badger & Toad, life along the River Bank, and adventures in the Wild Wood.

Spring is in the air and Mole has found a wonderful new world. There's boating with Ratty, a feast with Badger and high jinx on the open road with that reckless ruffian, Mr. Toad of Toad Hall. The four become the firmest of friends, but after Toad's latest escapade, can they join together and beat the wretched weasels?

Mole is a timid creature who lives underground. One spring day he has an urge to see what the outside world is like, so out he goes.

He meets up with Ratty, a water rat who lives on the nearby river and knows the outside world well. Through Ratty, Mole is introduced to Toad.

Toad is a creature of means, being owner of Toad Hall and its surrounding land. Toad is “the best of animals,” not very clever and a bit self-centered. He is known for getting exciting about something or other, throwing himself full in , then discovering something else and dropping one for the other. It had been boating, but next it was a horse and cart. But then he discovered automobiles! Toad may have pots of money, but he is lacking in brains.

Ratty, Mole and Badger try to keep Toad from automobiles, as he has already had a number of collisions, but Toad escapes and takes off on an adventure.

While Toad is gone, his property is taken over by the weasels and stoats. Upon Toad’s return his friends band together to take back Toad’s property. A major battle ensues!

The characters each have strengths and weaknesses but as a group they are help to each other. This is one of the plot lines of the book. I found there is much more to the book than what I’d been exposed to.

Though it is was written for children, there is a lot to be had for adult readers! ( )

A group of bachelor animals share friendship and adventures and wisdom. There is a magical chapter, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn." (see pp. 108-9) It reminds me of Dr. Who erasing the memory of Donna Noble and Fred Hoyle's The Black Cloud: some experiences are too much for mere mortals to retain. ( )

Not the best

I didn't hate this book, in fact I like the writing style quite a bit. I enjoyed the illustrations in this Kindle in Motion version and felt that they followed the writing well. I rated this with 2 stars because I found the story to be a bit boring and slow. The first half of the book feels like one story- it flows better. It is followed by several chapters that read as separate stories all together, one of which Ratty seems almost to have a completely opposite personality. Then the last three chapters are more like a continuation of the first half. This break up makes the story line more difficult to follow. I also wasn't in love with the characters themselves. Badger comes off gruff and continually irritated, though we do see a sweet side to him, unfortunately it appears to be a fluke. I found Toad to be conceited and rude and quite unlikable. I did like Mole and Rat. I felt that Mole grew throughout the book and learned about himself. Ultimately this isn't a story that I will read again, and I am not sure to whom or if I would recommend it. ( )