A signed copy of "The Wind In The Willows" sold at a Bonhams auction in London for 32,400 pounds ($48,794) - around 10 times its estimated value. Author Kenneth Grahame had inscribed the book with a dedication to the girl who inspired the character Ratty.

Children's literature has attracted some strong bidding in the past several months. A rare 1908 first edition of Anne of Green Gables, the beloved story by Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, sold for $37,500 at Sotheby's in December 2009.