Far from fading with time Kenneth Grahame's classic tale of fantasy has attracted a growing audience in each generation. Rat Mole Badger & the preposterous Mr Toad (with his ' Poop-poop-poop' road-hogging new motor car) have brought delight to many through the years with their odd adventures on & by the river & at the imposing residence of Toad Hall. ...

These audio editions especially dramatised for BBC Radio are of timeless stories that have enchanted generations of readers both young & old. The wonder & excitement of these much-loved tales live on in these acclaimed full-cast dramatisations complete with evocative music & sound effects. The story of Ratty Mole Badger & Toads escapades from messing about on the river to poop-pooping in Toads shiny new car was vividly brought to life in Alan Bennetts stage adaptation at the National Theatre in 1990 which captured the imagination of a new generation & introduced many to Kenneth Grahames classic book for the first time. This BBC Radio 4 full-cast recording features many of the members of the National Theatre production
- among them Richard Briers Leslie Phillips & Terence Rigby
- & is narrated by Alan Bennett himself.

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Believe me my young friend there is nothing
- absolutely nothing
- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.

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The Wind in the Willows belongs to the classic age of childrens classic novels. The charming exciting & humorous tales of the riverbank featuring Ratty Mole Badger & the conceited but irrepressible Toad of Toad Hall whose passion for motorcars lands him in many scrapes still continue to exert their charm over grown-ups as well as children. ...

This timeless story opens with Mole leaving his spring-cleaning & going above ground to explore the world beyond his burrow. Making friends with Ratty the two become inseparable & together they spend long summer days enjoying the delights of the river & its banks. Then they meet the impetuous Toad & the distinguished though slightly stern Mr Badger & find themselves caught up in a series of adventures to rescue Toad from his own reckless behaviour & return him safely to Toad Hall. Stolen cars prison sentences daring escapes & dastardly villains all feature in this classic tale of high-adventure & rock-solid friendship. The Wind in the Willows is a story full of beautifully-drawn characters. It is cherished from one generation to the next & so makes a perfect choice for a gift book as it will be enjoyed in equal measure by those tucked up in bed to hear the story for the first time & those who remember many of its lines fondly as they read the story aloud for their young listeners. This is a sumptuous & contemporary gift edition with stunning illustrations from David Roberts. ...

I hate school! I hate ratings! I won't reach higher! I won't strive harder! I won't make tomorrow better than today!" In the walled city of Aramanth exams are everything
- not only for children but for whole families. When Kestrel Hath dares to rebel the Chief Examiner humiliates her father & sentences the family to the harshest punishment. Desperate to save them Kestrel discovers that life in Aramanth was once different
- & if she can find the secret of the Wind Singer maybe life can change for the better once more. So she & her twin brother Bowman set out on a terrifying journey
- to the true source of the evil that grips Aramanth..."


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What's the hook? This gripping novel is packed with interesting things to say about an education system that over-relies on testing! What are the themes? Individual vs society family friendships & war. Teaching points? An excellent model for introduction irony & symbolism. ...

Archie Stringweed lives in the windswept Scottish fishing village of Westervoe. Archie is sure that the wind talks to him; that the wind watches him. It seems to appear round corners & laugh at him; to creep up behind him & blow him along the pavement; to drape itself round his shoulders & screech in his ear. Then on Archies tenth birthday he discovers that he faces a huge challenge
- one that will determine the fate of his family who have been plagued by a curse for generations. Before the day is out Archie is pitched in a furious battle with the elements.. .
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For readers new to The Dark Tower THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE is a st&-alone novel & a wonderful introduction to the series. It is a story within a story which features both the younger & older gunslinger Roland on his quest to find the Dark Tower. Fans of the existing seven books in the series will also delight in discovering what happened to Roland & his ka tet between the time they leave the Emerald City & arrive at the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis. This Russian Doll of a novel a story within a story within a story visits Mid-World's last gunslinger Roland Deschain & his ka-tet as a ferocious storm halts their progress along the Path of the Beam. (The novel can be placed between Dark Tower IV & Dark Tower V.) Roland tells a tale from his early days as a gunslinger in the guilt ridden year following his mother's death. Sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape shifter a skin man " Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter a brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast's most recent slaughter. Roland himself only a teenager calms the boy by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother used to read to him at bedtime ' The Wind through the Keyhole'. "A person's never too old for stories " he says to Bill. " Man & boy girl & woman we live for them." & stories like these they live for us. The back cover of the UK hardcover edition features some 8 000 faces of those who entered the Stephen King Faces competition. These faces are indiscernible to the naked eye on the actual covers but they can be found & identified with the zoom mechanism on http://www.stephenkingfaces.com/" ...

For readers new to The Dark Tower THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE is a st&-alone novel & a wonderful introduction to the series. It is a story within a story which features both the younger & older gunslinger Roland on his quest to find the Dark Tower. Fans of the existing seven books in the series will also delight in discovering what happened to Roland & his ka tet between the time they leave the Emerald City & arrive at the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis. This Russian Doll of a novel a story within a story within a story visits Mid-Worlds last gunslinger Roland Deschain & his ka-tet as a ferocious storm halts their progress along the Path of the Beam. (The novel can be placed between Dark Tower IV & Dark Tower V.) Roland tells a tale from his early days as a gunslinger in the guilt ridden year following his mothers death. Sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape shifter a skin man Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter a brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beasts most recent slaughter. Roland himself only a teenager calms the boy by reciting a story from the Book of Eld that his mother used to read to him at bedtime The Wind through the Keyhole. A persons never too old for stories he says to Bill. Man & boy girl & woman we live for them. & stories like these they live for us. ...