Toad Triumphant
By William Horwood
Illustrated by Patrick Benson
St. Martin's Griffin, 1995
ISBN: 0-312-18304-6
Reviewed by Sheldon Ztvordokov - November 28, 2006
Things are changing along the River Bank. A young female has entered this bachelor's realm and won the heart of Mr. Toad. It is up to his friends, Rat, Mole, and Badger to save him from himself and his wayward heart. This is a charming tale of friendship told through the beloved animal characters that first made their appearance in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.
Horwood's Toad Triumphant is technically a sequel to The Wind in the Willows, despite it having been penned by a different author. Horwood is also the author of The Willows in Winter, another book set in Grahame's River Bank world. Charming and tender, the story of Toad's misdirected infatuation in Toad Triumphant is embellished by a series of black and white illustrations by Patrick Benson. The illustrations alone make this book a worthwhile purchase. The illustrations are beautiful, comic, and they add texture to the story.
Toad Triumphant was written for an audience in the nine-twelve year old range, however this is a story that also does well as a read-aloud-book for younger children. (Best of all, you will not get bored as you read the book to your youngster!) For those who have read The Wind in the Willows, you will find that Horwood ably continues Grahame's story line. In addition, Horwood writes in a manner similar to Grahame's writing style, and he is able maintain the illusion that this is Grahame's own sequel to his beloved novel. If, on the other hand, you've never read The Wind in the Willows, you will find that Toad Triumphant can be read as a stand-alone book.
