THE OPEN ROAD

by Kenneth Grahame ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 1980

This, of course, is the celebrated second chapter of The Wind in the Willows--wherein Rat and Mole row down the river to call on Toad, let themselves be persuaded to set out in his horse-and-cart, and witness his sudden infatuation with ""that swan, that sunbeam, that thunderbolt!,"" the motor-car. It's a self-contained chapter, true, that can serve as an introduction to the book; and except that the illustrations are far more finicky than Ernest Shepard's, there's nothing really to fault them for. But just as with Scribners' earlier publication of the first chapter in picture-book form (The River Bank, 1977), this is still, in substance, no picture book; and any child ready for it will enjoy it as much, if not more, in its original form--given the greater suggestiveness of the text with fewer pictures and the rich allusiveness of those pictures in comparison to the precise elaboration of these.

Pub Date: March 10, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1980

Categories: CHILDREN'S