The Wind in the Willows

By: Kenneth Grahame

Narrated by: Terry Jones

Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

"...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." So says Rat, as he welcomes the lonely Mole to the community of the River. Whether messing about in boats, touring in Toad's motorcar, or simply relaxing at home, Mole, Rat, Otter, Toad, and Badger demonstrate the honorable human characteristics of kindness, patience, and tolerance toward all that have made this classic tale beloved by generations since it was first published in 1908. Narrator Terry Jones of Monty Python fame produced a version of The Wind in the Willows for British television in 1995.

Public Domain (P)1996 Phoenix Books

A great classic that is expertly read

Terry Jones reads this classic with great skill, wonderful accents and a sunny enthusiasm that is delightful. I found myself smiling along as he read, although the pace is a little brisk for listening in a very noisy environment.

Children of all ages will be enchanted by this book, and I'm glad I bought it. I look forward to listening to it often. It cheers me up whenever I'm feeling gloomy.

Fabulous narration!

Terry Jones brings the little creatures to life. The pace and his voices for each of the creatures: the gentle mole, the clever water rat, the gruff but wise badger, and the crazed toad, were perfection. The only part of the story that dragged a bit was the overly long portion involving the sea rat. This story is still thoroughly enjoyable at any age.

Lovely classic story, perfect reader, music sucks

This needs badly to be remixed for both sound quality and to get rid of the music which ruins an otherwise lovely story. I'm not sure why this choice was made, but it's harsh and annoying and makes it difficult to start the story as it competes with Jones' voice.

Fun and easy to imagine!

Downloaded the book for my grandson - it is fun, the best part was listening at bedtime and not having to read myself.

As it should be

Terry Jones does a truely beautiful job of narrating this classic childrens tale. This is a story to you will listen to over and over again.

Timeless Classic, Inspired Reading

You should definitely listen to a sample before purchasing, because Terry Jones will not be perfectly clear to the average American. However, if you are willing to spend the time getting used to his accent (or if you were raised on Monty Python) this is a very rewarding reading of the Wind in the Willows. Mr. Jones reads this story with a great deal of emotion and brings each character to life with a distinct and interesting voice. Highly Recommended.

Wonderful book, wonderful reading

I sampled all the audiobooks on Audible to see which reading my kids would like best, and I picked this one, and I'm glad I did. Terry Jones does a fantastic job at giving each character his own voice; the other narrators hardly did so, or didn't even try. The extra characterization and the intonation made this a really great book for my kids to listen to.

I don't recommend it for younger kids because of the complicated language and words the author used. A lot of the story went over the head of my 6 year old, though my 9 year old understood most of it.

Classic - Careful

While the book is a classic that no one will fail to enjoy it might be worth listening to a preview to check if the reading is comprehensible to you. I struggled with the readers accent and so did other listners. Perhaps downloading a different format will improve things.

Wonderful!!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Wind in the Willows to be better than the print version?

I love both the printed and audio version of this classic book. I alternated between reading this book aloud to my eight year old and listening to the audio. I definitely think this is a book that should be heard and not just read silently. The author is a master at poetic devices. Alliteration, repetition, assonance, internal rhymes and more are easily heard!

What did you like best about this story?

The narrator, Terry Jones, is incredible. I chose this narrator after listening to the others because I knew I wanted a British accent and a male. He does the different characters with different voices, yet in a natural and not contrived way. I took considerable time listening to the samples of all the versions available. I am completely happy with this narrator.

Any additional comments?

The WInd in the Willows is a children's classic and rightfully so. Some have commented that it is boring. My child loved it! As we read we grew to love the characters especially Ratty and Mole. The vocabulary is challenging, but my daughter was able to narrate and understand the story. I think books like this must be read in childhood for our children to have any hope of loving the more challenging classics they will encounter in high school.

A classic read by a true artist

What made the experience of listening to The Wind in the Willows the most enjoyable?

Terry Jones understands the characters deeply: his voicing of each player makes them unique and incredibly appropriate to who they are. A soothing tale, the aural equivalent of slipping into a warm bath robe and slippers, the characters quickly become old friends to re-visit when you just need to escape to the comfort of a sweet and satisfying story.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the atmosphere and comforting world that you can immerse yourself easily in.

Have you listened to any of Terry Jones’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Terry Jone's gift for character and narrative makes this book expressive and fascinating in a way a less skilled performer could never do. His talent for narration is also in full display: not only is his voice work perfection, his telling of the vignettes in each chapter is so vivid you can close your eyes and see the book unfold like a play.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The emotion is joy and peace, and satisfaction. This is not designed to work you up or make you think terribly hard, but to enjoy your time with the characters, and maybe glean a little moral from the characters about life, but nothing too strenuous.

Any additional comments?

As with many audio books, the chapter cutoffs don't match the actual chapters. It's still a great listen... if you have a favorite chapter be sure to bookmark it.