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by Mary Jane Begin I have to thank fate or luck or serendipity for bringing this little book to my hands. It really was intended for another reviewer, but it ended up in my mailbox. I am thrilled that it did. When Toady Met Ratty is the second in the "Willow Buds" series by Mary Jane Begin. An award-winning children’s author and illustrator, Begin has explored the early years of the characters from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. She has brought to life the struggles of that early friendship. In When Toady Met Ratty, Badger, like many youngsters today, is eager to introduce his two best friends to each other. But instantly, Ratty and Toady don’t hit it off. They eventually work out their differences and come to Badger’s aid. Begin teaches valuable lessons about how to negotiate friendships, be sensitive to others’ strengths and weaknesses, and learn to work together. But it is her lovely illustrations that catch the eye and tug at the heart. It appears that Begin uses a variety of media in her work. The maps inside the covers look as if they were a combination of watercolor and ink. Most of the illustrations within the pages are done in acrylics, though some appear to have the softness of pastels and may be a mixture of media. In any case, she has certainly captured the personalities of the original Badger, Toad, and Rat, and effectively made them younger and more whimsical. The Wind in the Willows characters were always my son’s favorites, as well as the animals in Lucy Kincaid's Riverboat Adventures and Riverboat Tales, which were published in the 1980s by Brimax books. It was always the illustrations that entranced him! |
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When Toady Met Ratty