The Jungle Books (Oxford World's Classics)

I have read (and loved) Kipling since I was very young. And now, in my dotage, I decided it was long past the time to share him and his works with my grandchildren. Maybe they will also want a mongoose for a pet after reading about the magnificent battles of Rikki-Tikki-Tava, something neither the law nor my mother would abide in those distant days of my past. Or find solace in some of this poems as life speeds past as I have for more decades than I now care to admit. Kipling was not, by our lights, politically correct, but he was a man of his age, and he wrote from the heart with wit and care and I suggest that he still has much to offer in terms of life's truths, such as we can understand them, that he was and remains a preeminent 'teller of tales,' and that those tales are worthy of being shared with those we love. Oh Mowgli, man-cub, may the jungles protect thee and thine,

This is a simple, cheap reprint in paperback of The Jungle Books, without illustrations BUT with the poems and songs.Amazing writing, like you expect from Kipling, and wonderful scenes and characters. I don't know that I would expect children to understand these stories on their first time through. Kipling is like that.Don't skip the appendices, especially the pronunciation guides and definitions.

Great stories for both adults and children (although the book is more for adults/teens)Not only does this includes every story from both separate Jungle Books it includes the original/epilogue Mowgli story "In the Rukh".If you only know of the Disney versions (both the classic and remake) check out the book as it's very different.

This is an excellent edition of the Jungle Book stories, which are so much more than just the Disney version of the Mowgli stories. A really excellent edition for anyone studying Kipling or children's literature classics.

The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895) are collections of children's stories and related poems by Rudyard Kipling, the Briton who was born in and loved India, and who wrote these stories while living in Vermont. The stories are written as fables, and teach some moral lessons. They are probably Kipling's best-known works.Many of the stories in both volumes feature Mowgli, the child raised by wolves who becomes master of the jungle (the first three stories in The Jungle Book are very obviously the inspiration for the 1967 animated Disney film). Most of the other stories are also set in India, although "The White Seal" in The Jungle Book and "Quiquern" (which is about Inuits) in The Second Jungle Book are exceptions. In nearly all instances, Kipling anthropomorphizes the animals; they speak, and are always prominent characters.Kipling does a good job of writing in the fable style, although he doesn't always keep things moving at a good pace, and so some stories are more engaging than others.There is a subtle racism throughout both volumes. Kipling was a staunch imperialist (he wrote the poem "The White Man's Burden" - this phrase has been used by imperialists since to justify imperialism as noble), and when humans feature in these stories, English whites are often presented as culturally and intellectually superior to the native Indians. This racism is still relevant, as it indicates a popular attitude of the day.Ultimately, the Jungle Books are well worth reading. They have, perhaps deservedly so, achieved a prominent place in the pantheon of children's literature.

Given to 12 yo grandchildren studying English literature!

Excellent book

Forget what you know about Kipling - and revel in the imagination of these stories. Of course he was a British imperialist - he called it like he saw it, and in his time the Brits dominated everyone ("Her Majesty's Servants"). But like some contemporary Britons he was seriously interested in India and the good and bad embedded in its people and customs ("The Miracle of Purun Bhagat"). Most importantly he was one of the first, and the few, literary figures to really embrace Darwinian ideas about nature. These elements contribute to the durability of The Jungle Book, a collection of stories which are not necessarily Kipling's best, but which are loosely unified by his bold and insightful conception of natural law (the only theme underlying all the stories, which aren't even all set in India - "The White Seal" is somewhere in the Arctic Ocean). In Kipling's world animals obey imperatives, and so do men and women - but with self-awareness and dignity, in both cases. Cruel irony is not absent, as in the minor but completely entertaining "The Undertakers." There are discordant moments of pathos. But mostly these are sophisticated children's stories, from an era when adults read adventure stories to young children and such stories were often more sophisticated. They are quirky stories of ideas but not lacking in action. They are unique - enjoy them on their own terms.

Good quality

Classic

great

als sich von der Disneykitschfabrik verblöden lassen. Kipling hat hier ein Meisterwerk geschaffen, das wenig mit den Disneyklischees zu tun hat.

I hadn't read this book since i was pre-teen. (i am over 70 now). it is well nuanced and a pleasant surprise reading through adult eyes.