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By M. G. Leonard (author) , Polly Dunbar (illustrator)
"An authentic and enchanting return to the Riverbank."
Hardback In Stock £14.99 £13.49
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April 2026 Book of the Month
A beautifully produced and beautifully illustrated hardback, published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kenneth Grahame’s death and the 95th anniversary of E. H .Sheperd’s iconic illustrations for the Wind in The Willows , which would indeed make a lovely gift, but, as you would expect from MG Leonard, this is no mere gift book. Nor is it a modernised retelling of the classic tales of the Riverbank because Leonard, a fan since childhood, tells us she does not believe perfection can be improved.
Rather, she has very cleverly given us new stories filling in some readerly gaps in the original story. She was always intrigued as a child by the episode where all the creatures of the Riverbank are anxiously searching for Portly the young otter, who has been missing for days. He eventually is found sleeping at the feet of Pan, but she always wondered where he had been and this is her opportunity to tell his story.
Similarly to its classic inspiration, the book is a series of mini adventures, here following the young otter as he goes from being terrified of his first venture into the river, to ending as a brave and resourceful young otter battling the stoats, weasel and fox villains from The Wildwood.
While the anthropomorphism of Grahame’s original tale is faithfully adhered by Leonard, we do learn quite a lot about the natural lives of otters in the process because she is such an avid nature lover and her research and, no doubt observations of otters in the wild, inform and enhance the stories. She brings a real subtlety to the portrayal of Portly and his family, describing the sibling rivalries and Portly’s need to impress his father.
It is lovely to be rediscovering old favourite characters as Portly meets them for the first time, and to discover new characters such as the human girl he rescues and another young otter, Molly, a fellow adventurer. We can see his admiration for the dashing Mr Toad and his growing friendship for Ratty and Mole and his immense respect for Badger. There are moments of great humour and peril – particularly battling the giant trout and barely escaping from being blasted into space attached to Toad’s fireworks.
These are all hugely enjoyable episodes which will be a delight to share as a read aloud. Polly Dunbar’s full colour, delicately detailed illustrations are a true homage to Shepherd’s style and bring the Riverbank to life for a whole new generation. Truly delightful.
Follow the thrilling animal adventures of young otter Portly - including all your favourite characters such as Mole, Ratty and Toad, from the countryside classic, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
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"Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING - absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats"
There is a time in a young otter's life when they must be introduced to their river. For Portly, today was that day ...
Told across four seasons in one year, little Portly has the greatest of adventures. Amongth other fur-raising encounters, the youngest of Mrs Otter's pups learns to swim, battles a large trout, rescues a human girl, outwits the weasels and stoats of the Wild Wood and sleeps between the cloven feet of the god Pan - a scene familiar to readers of the original book.
Full of all the charm, nostalgia and sounds of splashing in the river that fans of The Wind in the Willows have fallen in love with over the years, M.G.Leonard's faithful spin-off will enchant an entirely new generation.
Beautifully illustrated in full-colour by award-winning illustrator of The Hug , Polly Dunbar, this gorgeous hardback gift book celebrates the 95th anniversary of EH Shepard's iconic artwork for The Wind in the Willows. The perfect Easter gift for both new readers and existing fans - young and old!
'This magical retelling bubbles with wonder, joy and love.' – Piers Torday, author of the Last Wild
'A glorious future classic' — Alexander Armstrong, author of Evenfall
'Marvellous tales, full of sparkle and charm' — Sophie Anderson, author of The Girl Who Speaks Bear
'One of the loveliest books I've read in a long time' — Kiran Millwood Hargrave author of The Girl of Ink and Stars
M.G. Leonard has made up stories since she was a girl, but back then adults called them lies or tall tales and she didn't write them down.
As a grown up, her favourite things to create stories about are beetles, birds, and trains. Her books have been translated into over forty languages and won many awards. She is the vice president of the insect charity Buglife, and a founding author of Authors4Oceans.
She lives in Brighton with her husband, two sons, a fat cat called Kasper, a dog called Nell, and a variety of exotic beetles.
Find the books in M G Leonard and Sam Sedgman's series, Adventures on Trains, here.
M.G. Leonard has a first-class honours degree in English Literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from Kings College London. She is the author of Beetle Boy and is still overcoming her fear of all things creepy crawly. She works in London as the Senior Digital Media Producer for the National Theatre, and previously worked at the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe. Leonard spent her early career in the music industry running Setanta Records, an independent record label, and managing bands, most notably The Divine Comedy. After leaving the music industry, she trained as an actor, dabbling in directing and producing as well as performing, before deciding to write her stories down. Leonard lives in Brighton with her partner and two sons and her pet rainbow stag beetle.
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Follow the thrilling animal adventures of young otter Portly - including all your favourite characters such as Mole, Ratty and Toad, from the countryside classic, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. For Portly, today was that day ...
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Adventures of Portly the Otter and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-10 years old
The Adventures of Portly the Otter features in the following genres: Featured Books for 7+ readers, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Books of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Adventure Stories, Stories about Family and Friends, Animal Stories, Romance / Relationship Stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories, Classic Literature, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Hardback. £13.49, down from the £14.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Adventures of Portly the Otter was written by M. G. Leonard and published by Farshore an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
The Adventures of Portly the Otter has 220 pages
£13.49, reduced from £14.99. In Stock.
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