Though there have been many adaptations for drama, television and animation, Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows remains a one-off masterpiece. When he wrote the story in 1908, the rural Thames Valley setting was already being eroded by suburbia, but he captures the English rural idyll perfectly. His all-male cast of characters, the reclusive Badger, the ebullient, swaggering Toad and the thoroughly decent Rat, are readily recognisable as pre-First World War Edwardian gents. But it is with the tremulously liberated, less socially confident Mole that we really identify.

Two narratives intertwine; the outrageous adventures of Toad, his obsession with fast cars that lands him in jail and his thrilling escape disguised as a washerwoman are interspersed with the dreamy episodes of the riverbank and the terrors of the wild wood. The book was unillustrated when it first appeared, though many artists have taken up the challenge since. For me, none can match Ernest Shepard's masterly line drawings, his apparently effortless evocation of the lyrical essence of the story and the affection with which he draws the anthropomorphic characters.

His was the interpretation I grew up with, but each generation of children comes to this book afresh.

Joining the judging panel - featuring the illustrator Mini Grey, Times Books design editor Sharron Morgan, and Stephen Parker and Liz Foley from Vintage Classics - for a children's competition to design a new cover for The Wind in the Willows was an eye-opener for me as an illustrator. The entries were so various in style. Felt pens were popular for colour, not surprisingly because they are relatively inexpensive and readily available. But a good many children tackled the challenge of watercolour (a medium that caused me a good deal of frustration in my own childhood) with confidence. Computer graphics inspired a lot of ingenuity in these young illustrators, especially in one strikingly minimal image by Edward Hardy of the prow of a boat, a rope mooring and some rippling water, seen from above. When it came to tackling animals, though, there was a very real attempt to draw them naturalistically. The influence of the overtly distorted cartoon images that are dished out to children daily by the electronic media seemed, rather to my surprise, to be minimal.

Catherine Funnell, 8, one of the younger runners-up, produced a beautifully drawn and arresting picture of the three animal heroes trapped in the spotlight beam of an electric torch, against a background of solid black. Laura Hutchison, 12, surrounded her jaunty and snappily dressed Rat and Mole, carrying their picnic hamper to the river's edge, with trees, bulrushes and flowers. Tom Wheeler, 12, is clearly a young illustrator in the making. He tackled the riverside setting, including Toad Hall, with real observation. And his characterisation - Toad lounging back in the boat, glass in hand, Mole sitting primly upright and Rat plying the oars - has an eye for detail that gives them fresh life.

Our winner, Harry Jones, 12 (left), has given us a simple, uncluttered design painted in soft watercolour washes with fresh, vivid greens and varied ripples in the river. The willows curve over the bank, the ducks are a-dabbling, and Mole and Rat are afloat, off for a day upriver. It's a highly satisfying image.

Clearly with young artists like these, British book illustration is in very good shape.

Winner: Harry Jones, 12
His illustration will be used on the cover of a new edition of The Wind in the Willows and he wins 40 Random House children's books of his choice

Runners up: Catherine Funnell, 8; Laura Hutchison, 12; Tom Wheeler, 12
Each of whom wins 20 Random House children's books of their choice

Harry Jones says:

When I painted it I was in a production of the play. A lot of it is about Mole and Rat rowing on the river and messing about in boats so I thought that portrayed the book quite well.

It took me about an hour and a half to paint, quite a long time. I did it one Saturday afternoon in the summer. I drew the characters first and then began adding the banks. I've used watercolour a few times before.

I like Wind in the Willows because it's a book about friendship, they all help Toad and work together to overcome their enemy. I think it's also a calm and peaceful book.

Click the multimedia link above to see a gallery of the illustrations

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Vintage Classics, £5.99; 260pp Buy the book here

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