THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

Award-winning narrator Simon Vance has the perfect English accent for this 1908 classic featuring four anthropomorphized friends: Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger. Vance's character voices are gently nuanced--discernible without distracting from the considerable descriptive prose that embellishes this tale of friendship and adventure along the riverbank at edge of the Wild Wood. He brings long passages to life, rapturously capturing the mood when Rat hears the mysterious piping of the demigod Pan or when Mole smells the urgent call of his underground home. Only the arrogant Toad is unmoved by the pastoral setting. Vance lustily sings Toad's self-congratulatory songs as he experiences wild escapes from motor cars. Vance's Badger is suitably gruff but kindly as he and his companions strive to rein in Mr. Toad. L.T. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2017]