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"In this delightful dive into the bygone world of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows staunch Mole, sociable Water Rat, severe Badger, and troublesome and ebullient Toad of Toad Hall are joined by a young mole lady, Beryl, and her dear friend, Rabbit. There are adventures, kidnappings, lost letters, and family secrets-lavishly illustrated throughout by award-winning artist Kathleen Jennings. Praise for Kij Johnson: "The Fox Woman immediately sets the author in the front rank of today's novelists." -Lloyd Alex-ander "Johnson has a singular vision and I'm going to be borrowing (stealing) from her." -Sherman Alexie "Johnson's language is beautiful, her descriptions of setting visceral, and her characters compellingly drawn." -Publishers Weekly (starred re-view) "Johnson would fit quite comfortably on a shelf with Karen Russell, Erin Morgen-stern and others who hover in the simultaneous state of being both "literary" and "fantasy" writ-ers." -Shelf Awareness Kij Johnson's stories have won the Sturgeon, World Fantasy, and Nebula awards. She has taught writing and has worked at Dark Horse, Microsoft, and Real Networks. She has run bookstores, worked as a radio announcer and engineer, edited cryptic crosswords, and waitressed in a strip bar. Kathleen Jennings was raised on fairytales in western Queensland. She trained as a lawyer and filled the margins of her notes with pen-and-ink illustrations. She has been nominated for the World Fantasy award and has received several Ditmar Awards. She lives in Brisbane, Australia"--… (more)
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User reviews
There are still class distinctions, some animals wear clothing and interact with humans. Sheep and cows are just animals. Moles, water rats and others are gentle, and live in houses. Others, like stoats and foxes are still villains and mostly live in the Wild Woods.
There is still much messing around in boats, and Toad is up to his usual misadventures.
Grahame’s females were only minor or incidental to his story.
Johnson introduces Beryl Mole, a writer, and her friend the Rabbit, who share a cottage near the river. They each, in their own ways, are the characters who solve problems and control the flow of this book, which is all to the better.
Pan, who appeared briefly, but to great effect, in only one chapter of 'Wind in the Willows', appears again, this time to Beryl, in ’The River Bank.’
I missed 'Wind in the Willows' in childhood, read it as an adult, loved it then, and now like 'The Riverbank' even more.