SOURCE: Tucker, Nicholas. “The Children's Falstaff.” In Suitable for Children?: Controversies in Children's Literature, edited by Nicholas Tucker, pp. 160-64. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.

In the following essay, originally published in 1969, Tucker examines the continuing fascination children have with the character of Toad in The Wind in the Willows.

Although The Wind in the Willows was written over sixty years ago, there are still no signs of its popularity waning with today's children and parents. It is now in its 105th edition, has a huge annual sale, and every Christmas A.A. Milne's adaptation Toad of Toad Hall is put on in the West End to full houses.

There are many enchanting things in this great work, but undoubtedly part of its continual fascination for children lies in the character and adventures of Toad. For Kenneth Grahame too, Toad was the first inspiration for the whole work...