The Wind in the Willows is a children's book by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternatingly slow-moving and fast-paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals: Mole, Rat (a European water vole), Toad, and Badger. They live in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The book was based on bedtime stories Grahame told his son Alastair. It has been adapted numerous times for both stage and screen.