I'm just going to say it: I can't stand Toad. I really can't. When I read this book as a kid I hated him, when child-me sat through the movie I hated him, and, having just read the book again, some decades on from the first time, I still think he's an absolute waste of space. (The introduction to this edition seems to think he's based on Grahame's spoilt brat of a son. I shudder to think.)

HOWEVER. Mole and Rat and Badger are delightful, and the lovely depiction of life on a river bank is well worth reading. Grahame's prose, when describing the natural world, especially when focused on place, is really extremely good, and I got a wee chill when Mole and Rat met Pan. There's a lot to like here, and if I personally think this book would be improved by the early death by motorcar of its most irritating character, then I realise I'm probably the only one.