As far as the fantastical part goes, they're very much children's books. I mean, if you're a kid, you read them and are all excited about the talking animals and the kids going into another world, but if you read them when you're older you're often reading FOR the deeper meaning.

As far as the fantastical part goes, they're very much children's books. I mean, if you're a kid, you read them and are all excited about the talking animals and the kids going into another world, but if you read them when you're older you're often reading FOR the deeper meaning.

Talking animals only for attacting children and preparing them for some allegory?!

My unending love for the Wind in the Willows series was and is (yes, I still like a children's book! stfu! ) mostly based on the fact that it's a fairytale, a magical story full of talking animals and such. Wind in the willows is a story about talking animals and whispering trees, with the god Pan popping up somewhere inbetween. It certainly has deeper meaning; Toad learns from his self-destructive behaviour, for example. But. For me most of the worth of the book is in the talking animals and trees because that is the deeper meaning. I think it taught me to respect other living beings as a child. I still value that. Plus, it just has amazing describtions. The theme song of the animated series captures the feel of it exactly; The wind in the willows sang softly to me, follow my voice wherever it leads. Through mountains and valleys and deep rolling seas, born on the wings of the breeze. Spin me a dream, woven silver and gold of sunshine and shadows and days long ago. Where people are memories and stories unfold, willows, the tales you have told me. Wind in the Willows you just seem to know, who you can turn to and which way to go, to unwind your wondrous mind. Wind in the Willows, take me home.

I still think that's really very beautiful.

And oh man, I had nightmares from the bit where they met Pan. xD Pan is, in Wind in the Willows, a sort of personification of nature, but not sweet cheesy typical chilrden's books' nature..to quote an essay: " ...as you can imagine, I found this quite scary at age 5 or 6, when I first watched the series. Actually when I took a look at the episode a while back I thought it still looked slightly creepy, and very, very druggy. I saw it at 5 and had nightmares for years - probably one of the reasons why I liked it so much, because I liked scary things.