The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame for the iPad

I adore The Wind in the Willows.  My grandmother used to read it to me, so it is a mixed memory.  A warm memory of her and a lovely remembrance of the book, its characters, the setting and the time in which it was placed. 





Please see the trailer at the end of the post.

The adventures of Toad, Badger, Mole and Ratty take place along the river, which many think is the Thames, as author Kenneth Graham lived along it.

Now there is new life in the timeless story and characters, insuring the longevity of the classic.  What is it?  Have a look at The Wind in the Willows app for the iPad from Sam North, Author, Steve Dooley, Artist/Illustrator and Bobby Gilbert, Maths and Programming Magic.
 
I remember Toad roaring around leafy lanes in his motorcar. Today is is is now totally animated, and the reader able to steer the vehicle as it tears through the countryside. 
 
Developed by creative team Bibliodome, from Chagford, in Devon, the app is suitable for adults as well as children.  Novelist Sam North adapted the tale for the app.  It was important for him to make sure the story remained true to itself.

Of the new technology, Sam North says:

I don’t think the birth of the digital age means the death of the book. The book is a perfect technology in its own right. But interactive story-telling on the iPad (and on readers like Kindle and on other tablets) will create a new and large market for itself. Children of all ages love the iPad; they have a natural hunger for the demands it makes on their intuition. However, careful attention has to be paid to the psychology of story, and the orchestration of the interactive elements. The interactive elements can, if handled badly, very quickly destroy the child’s imaginative immersion in the story.

For those who are traditionalists of the first water, here is an app vignette.  I had an email from Steve Dooley today.  He just returned from the University of Oxford where he did a presentation of the app to the Kenneth Grahame Society.  With a bit of understandable trepidation, he conducted the presentation.  At the end, the chairman of the society said:

I think I can safely say today we have seen a milestone edition of The Wind in the Willows that will introduce Kenneth Graham and the story to a whole new generation world wide.

The technology torch has been passed.

The Wind In The Willows--New App!

The Kenneth Grahame novel follows the countryside adventures of much-loved characters Toad, Ratty, Badger and Mole.

It centers around the animals' adventures on The River, thought to have been inspired by the Thames, near to which Grahame lived.

But while the new release sticks closely to the original for its words and pictures, a simple touch of the screen brings the story to life.

The famous scene of Toad tearing through leafy roads in his motorcar is now fully animated, with the reader able to steer the vehicle as it speeds along.  Dancing butterflies and partying weasels feature in other scenes that can be controlled by the player.

Developed by creative team Bibliodome, from Chagford, in Devon, the app aims to match the book in all its splendor.

Novelist Sam North, who adapted the tale for the app, told how he made sure the story remained the most important thing — not flashy graphics.  He explained: “Everyone knows what a great, well-loved tale it is and we insisted that the story must remain at the heart of the project.


And artist Steve Dooley, who created the illustrations, said he was inspired by Grahame's words to the original illustrator: "I love these little people, so please be kind to them."

And as for me, your humble blogger, anything that promotes this timeless treasure is splendid!  Grahame did the world a favor by conjuring up these simple but so complex characters that have so much to say in a delightful manner.