About the Author

Annie Gauger studied at Oxford University and has been researching Grahame's papers in the Bodle­ian Library and the Harry Ransom Center for more than ten years. She lives in Randolph, Massachusetts.

Brian Jacques is the best-selling author of the Redwall series.

Reviews

"[Gauger] by far [is] the more extensive and detailed of the two annotators." -- Charles McGrath - The New York Times "[Jacques' introduction is] a paean to the story and its heroes that is in delightful harmony with the book's spirit...richly illustrated throughout." -- Katherine A. Powers - Boston Globe "Beautiful." -- Meghan Cox Gurdon - National Review "[I]nsights that burnish the book...enrich the experience of reading the book...it's the introduction...that give[s] us a new relationship to the story." -- Jeremy McCarter - Newsweek "[Gauger] provides revealing insights into the psychological and social genesis of The Wind in the Willows...illuminating...analysis of the pictures...lovers of The Wind in the Willows are surely indebted to Ms. Gauger's work, and her readers will love seeing illustrations from so many editions." -- Claire Hopley - Washington Times "[A] superlative book...It is the ultimate desk-bound person's fantasy scheme." -- Roger Lewis - The Daily Express "A beautiful and fascinating book which surely must become the definitive edition for any lovers of Kenneth Grahame. Annie Gauger has produced a lavish and scholarly work which still allows us to enjoy the original story without all the incredible research feeling unnecessarily intrusive." -- John O'Farrell

Gr 3-5-Stout-hearted Dorothy, dashing but naive D'Artagnan, and feckless Toad are introduced to young graphic-novel enthusiasts. Each book is a serviceable representation of the original work, hitting all relevant plot points in a somewhat rigidly paced 70 to 100 pages. Occasional anachronisms are jarring (D'Artagnan asks, "Are you okay?"). Unfortunately, the pages in Oz suffer from serious overcrowding: detail-heavy panels are arranged in an overlapping layout with no gutters between panels, making the book visually dense. Colors glare and characters appear stiff. Eric Shanower's graphic-novel edition of the same book (Marvel Classics) is easier on the eyes. Musketeers is drawn in a sharper-edged but still goofy style that emphasizes the humor in every scene. Willows is illustrated in an exaggerated cartoon style, with pop-eyed, loose-limbed characters that are a sharp contrast to depictions in other recent illustrated editions by artists such as Robert Ingpen, Luanne Rice, and Inga Moore. No library should be without these classics, but these adaptations may not be the best ones to choose.-Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, MD (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.