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The Jungle Book
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The Jungle Book
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The Jungle Book
Ebook241 pages3 hours

The Jungle Book

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this ebook

From the moment a little naked cub wanders into the lair of Father Wolf and Mother Wolf to the moment when the master of the jungle returns to his own people, Mowgli's adventures comprise a fable of human life. Along with these stories are other animal tales. This is a magnificent new edition of the best-loved story featuring over 80 beautiful illustrations by award-winning Australian illustrator Robert Ingpen.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 19, 2016
ISBN9781786750099
Author

Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling was born in India in 1865. After intermittently moving between India and England during his early life, he settled in the latter in 1889, published his novel The Light That Failed in 1891 and married Caroline (Carrie) Balestier the following year. They returned to her home in Brattleboro, Vermont, where Kipling wrote both The Jungle Book and its sequel, as well as Captains Courageous. He continued to write prolifically and was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907 but his later years were darkened by the death of his son John at the Battle of Loos in 1915. He died in 1936.

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Reviews for The Jungle Book

Rating: 3.7818181818181817 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A great classic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautiful, brilliant, nostalgic...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautiful, brilliant, nostalgic...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Most people will be familiar with this story, and will know why it is a classic. On the other hand, they may have not read the original version with the additional tales and poetry. It was worth reading these, even though the story of Mowgli is certainly the best known story for a good reason! The other tales though show the versatility of the author, and are engaging in their own way
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    My mom gave me a lot of classics when I was growing up, all big-text on pulpy paper and bright covers, perfect for the young book nerd. I loved the Jungle Books, I always thought she'd read them too, but talking to her recently, I guess she never read much Kipling. I'd forgotten that the first Jungle Book has side stories about Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and the bit about the elephants dancing and whatnot. Only the first half is really about Mowgli at all. The point of reading this, besides my obvious addiction, is so that I have the story straight in my head during The Second Jungle Book, which had passages that stuck in my brain like nothing else over the years.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    My standard four teacher placed this collection into my hands knowing that I was a keen reader. I think he was trying to steer me towards the classics and away from Enid Blyton. I'm glad someone did. I read it, but I had no further guidance, so I was a bit perplexed. I asked my father to take a look. He's a non-reader really. He read a few paragraphs and said, 'What a load of rubbish.' (This didn't help.)
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    One of my favorites.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Even better now than when I was a child

    This is the first time I have read this book since I was a little girl. The stories are well written, for adult and child alike. It is a great thing to get to know these classical characters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This a collection of tales that include Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, and Shere Khan; the great snake Kaa and the Monkey People; the white seal Kotick; Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and the human family he saves from the cobra couple Kala Nag and Nagaina; Little Toomai and the elephants; and a mule named Billy. "Mowgli's Brothers" is Chapter 1 and it's the basis for the popularized story and film called "The Jungle Book."These are stories of adventure and exploration of the world and its inhabitants. The adventures contain life's lessons along the way. I think most of these stories are fantastic in how they engage the reader through a fun plot and an easy reading style, especially "Mowgli's Brothers" and "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi."
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had no idea this book had more than the story of Mowgli. I've never even heard of the other stories although my mother says they are classic stories that she grew up with. And the story of Mowgli is much less than what I expected. I didn’t care too much for most of the other stories, though I now know what Rikki-tikki-tavi and Tomai references mean now. It was more of a book of short stories than anything else, which I usually don’t get into very often. It’s checked off the list though. Don’t regret the read since it was so short.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Don't rely on Disney, read the book(s) for yourself! The cartoon I've seen of Rikki Tikki Tavi is a faithful adaptation, and there are other stories I was wholly unaware of, but everything involving Mowgli is a bit different. There's more too. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the film adaptations too, but the book is likewise worth your time, if not more so.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A classic that I loved since I read it for the first time at age 5. My favourite till today is Rikki Tikki Tavi, the mongoose who makes friends with beings so totally different from itself and protects them with wit and skill.Oh, and Bagheera, of course. Every child should have a Bagheera.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I think this book is a bit gruesome for children, but... oh well, that's just me. Maybe it's all a matter of point of view, the original fairy tales are not half as glamorous as it is shown by the Disney universe.

    I usually dislike books with talking animals, and this one was no exception. I found that this book was rather bland and it failed to draw my attention to any of its tales. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi's was, by far, the most interesting one. As for the other ones, well, they're not really impressive. Indeed, perhaps I'm not the target audience of this book, thus my lack of interest for most of its aspects.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Picked up as premium on Folio Society order instead of 'Autumn' offering. Later saw a preview for new CGI Jungle Book Disney movie, so a refresher read seemed timely. I enjoyed all the stories, most especially 'Toomai of the Elephants' that I had never before encountered.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Rikki-Tikki-Tavi has always been my favourite story in this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kipling's famous story about a boy who is left to live in the jungle. A charming and timeless tale.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The delightful tales in The Jungle Book can and should be enjoyed by young and old. Mowgli, a human child in India, is rescued by wolves and raised by them with wolf brothers and sisters by wolf parents, after an evil lame tiger chased away his human parents. The tiger who not only kills humans wants to control the wolf pact. He tells the wolves insistently that Mowgli belongs to him. Mowgli has many adventures among the wolves and later among humans. Once, for instance, he was captured when he was ten or eleven years old by monkeys, who are portrayed as stupid forgetful creatures in the book. He is saved during a lengthy battle by Bagheera the black panther who loves him and by Baloo the bear that is his instructor, as well as the python Kaa who respects him. Mowgli leaves the jungle and goes to live in the human village. He thinks that people act and think strangely, speak foolishly, and believe that they can change things, which Mowgli knows cannot be changed. These are just some of Mowgli's many adventures. The book also contains exploits by many different animals, such as the story of the white seal that saves other seals from being killed by men for their skins, the mongoose who rescues a family from husband and wife cobras, and a boy who sees elephants dance.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a brave young boy story.A boy is grown in jungle.He has alot of friends.friends are animals.And he can learn jungle rules thanks for a bear and a black panther witch are his friends. For example, langage of snake.The boy is very blave and he fight with bad tiger ,and so on.When I read this book,I was given brave feeling by this book.This book is very good.Nature told us various things.So,I read book very fast!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Previously, I only knew about The Jungle Book if it was the Disney movie, which I didn't even watch. The show looked a little infantile and frankly, I didn't really get it. Later on, I read and loved The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which I heard was based on The Jungle Book. Interesting, but still not enough to get me to read it. Finally, I read The God of Small Things by Arundathi Roy. In it, they quoted The Jungle Book's "We be of one blood, thou and I". After meeting all these instances of intertextuality, I had to read the book. The book follows a fairly predictable format: story, then a poem about the story. While I was a little disappointed that not all the stories was about Mowgli, the other stories were interesting. I'm not sure about all this imperialism stuff, since I've not studied that aspect of literature in detail, but all I saw was the noble savage idea, such as that of Huckleberry Finn.Although the stories lagged towards the end, I still enjoyed the book, if not for the content, then for all the wonderful instances of intertexualities within it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Kipling was born in India, was removed to England when ten, to return for work as an adult for 6 years. The Jungle stories are here compiled from magazine articles written while the author was living in Vermont (!). Also contains Baloo's Maxims [46], Mowgli's Song [131], other song-verses [e.g. 42, 89, 300], and the law of the Jungle, interspersed, which lays down rules for the safety of all, as taught to all cubs, by Baloo the sleepy brown bear. Speaking of cubs, there is Mowgli, the feral child, raised by wolves. Other much-loved stories include the heroic mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and the elephant-handler, Toomai. Bracketed by the jungle stories is a tale out of the Bering Sea: Kotick, a fur seal, searches for a home for his kind where they will not be persecuted by humans. Since Kipling was a great admirer of Theodor Herzl who sought self-determination for the Jewish people, it is difficult not to view this otherwise out-of-place message as a metaphor in support of a fellow journalist and friend. Ironically, three decades later, a social irritant in Germany usurped a reverse of Kipling's symbol, the Swastica, as an insignia for a political party devoted to persecution.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very enjoyable. Kipling knows his Subcontinent thoroughly and this epic yarn of an orphan boy raised by a menagerie of animals is priceless. Even Kaa the snake is a wise teacher to the boy. Much more involved than the wonderful cartoon movie by Disney, this book should be read first.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Enjoyed the main story of The Jungle Book, didn't enjoy the other stories in the book quite as much. Other than The Jungle Book I liked the story of Little Toomai.Wonder if J.K. Rowling was inspired by Rudyard Kipling when she created Nagini as there are two snakes in a story named Nag and Nagaina.Made me want to read The Just So stories again. I might look out for it on the Kindle.Think it tied in well with my EA300 course though I enjoyed it more for not having to study it!Would love to get a pretty illustrated version to read again in the future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The first three stories here are more or less in our literary DNA at this point (I mean, really, who calls up more vivid associations for you, Noah, Achilles, and King Arthur, or Baloo, Bagheera, and Shere Khan?). Mowgli is the child raised by wolves, of course, but he's also the perfect man in a way, the transcendently alive (and lithe) hunter gatherer, domiciling amongst the beasts not because he's fallen off the map of human civilization but because we left him behind, adopted agriculture and superstition. He's not an animal and he's not a man, at least given what man has become--he's the treetopper and tool-user we might have been.And then there is "The White Seal," Kotick the seal on his requisite quest through underwater amazement-scapes, and the seals have their own language based on Aleut, which is amazing, and it's just a really well-fleshed-out and enchanting world. Also Kipling manages to pull off a (gory) seal massacre in a way that's not too awful to teach small children some thoughtful lessons about mortality. The equal of Mowgli in every way.And Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the mongoose, lesser, and Kipling dwells fetishistically on the "Big Englishman," but still a classic David/Goliath story.And then "Toomai of the Elephants," which to me is just mahout fanfic, and then the one about the horse and the mule and the camel, which to me is befuddled and pointless as if Kipling got too much sun.And the poems, which range from evocative in a"Jungle-Floor Ballads" kind of way to extraneous plot sommary of the stories to which they attach. This is a comprehensive rating, but Mowgli and Kotick are five-star bros for sure.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    After re-reading "Jungle Book" I still did not enjoy it. It's a book for children but as a child I did not enjoy it that much so I decided to put it off for x number of years. I guess a boy who grew up with wolves, bears and panthers just does not sit well with me but I did love the Disney movie. Maybe I'm just not a jungle girl and the Rules of the Jungle does not apply to me ;p.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Public domain book. It's been a long time since I saw the movie, and I've never read the novel. There's not actually a lot of "The Jungle Book" in this. Two, maybe three stories. And Shere Kahn is killed in the beginning. The rest are some stories about elephants and seals that involve a lot of "not things happening". It's not dissimilar from "Just So Stories". The stories just don't hold up well. They were meant for another time. Except "Rikki Tiki Tavi", which could take place in space with aliens if you switched some characters and settings around. I started skipping towards the end, because I just didn't feel like the stories mattered. If you want a Jungle Book fix, see the movie.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Jungle Book, a three star rated book, would be a good book for elementary or middle level students. The book comes in pictures or just words. This book is a classic tale that teachers could have a good time with to introduce the jungle and/or wild animals.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Not only a ripping yarn, but one with many lessons to be learned -- I have met far too many of the Bandar-Log in my time. It's been quite a while since I've read it, so parents might want to make this a read-aloud to be able to explain some of Kipling's outdated ideas. Take what's good and leave the rest.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Rudyard Kipling’s _The Jungle Book_ is an enjoyable read. A collection of short stories, all of which revolve around the lives and troubles of different animals and the people who interact with them, it has a surprising amount of depth coupled with rather pleasant prose. The most famous of these stories are probably those that revolve around Mowgli, the jungle boy raised by wolves in India whose adventures with Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther against the machinations of Shere Khan the tiger are fairly well-known (even resulting in a typically watered-down Disney movie from many years ago).

    All of the stories are notable for their fairly even handed treatment of the interactions between animals and men. The tragedy and pathos of the tribulations and abuse animals often have to suffer at the hands of man are not glossed over, but neither is it implied that all interactions between mankind and the animal kingdom are destructive or unwarranted. The animals are presented as having languages and customs of their own and Kipling generally does a pretty neat trick of managing to straddle the line between having his animal characters behave too much like humans and having them fall into unrelatability by being purely ‘animals’. The most significant contravention of this occurs, I think, in the story “Her Majesty’s Servants” in which, in my opinion, a group of animals serving various roles in a British regiment shade a bit more towards taking on the roles of their all-too human handlers. That quibble aside I enjoyed these morality fables and adventure stories, with those centring on Mowgli and his lessons in the Laws of the Jungle topping the list. Good clean fun with enough meat to the bone to give you something to think about.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Summary: During the times of the British Raj in India, Mowgli is the 5-year-old son of the widowed Nathoo. Nathoo works as a tour guide. On one of his tours, he is leading Colonel Geoffrey Brydon and his men as well as Brydon's 5-year-old daughter Katherine, with whom Mowgli nicknames "Kitty" and is close friends. That night, Shere Khan attacks the encampment, killing some soldiers who had been hunting for fun in the jungle earlier, which had enraged Khan. When he tries to kill the third hunter, Buldeo, Nathoo defends Buldeo and is mauled to death by Shere Khan. In the confusion, Mowgli is lost in the jungle (so is left unaware of his father's death) - Brydon and his men now believe Mowgli has too been killed. Mowgli is soon spotted by Bagheera the gentle panther, who brings the boy to the wolf pack. Mowgli also befriends a bear cub named Baloo. Years later, Mowgli, now a young man, discovers Monkey City, a legendary ancient city filled with treasure, owned by King Louie who has his treasure guarded by Kaa the python.Elsewhere, Katherine and her father are still stationed in India. She and Mowgli meet again, but neither recognise the other. Katherine is also in a relationship with one of Brydon's soldiers, William Boone. Mowgli enters the village in search of Katherine. Boone and his men manage to capture him and see that he is in possession of a valuable dagger that he took from Monkey City. Katherine discovers an old bracelet of her mother's: one she gave Mowgli when they were children, and instantly realizes who Mowgli is. She and Dr. Julius Plumford (a good friend of Brydon's) decide that they must re-introduce Mowgli to civlization. In doing so, Mowgli and Katherine fall in love, much to Boone's displeasure. Boone later proposes to Katherine and she accepts. Around this time, Mowgli returns to the jungle as he does not feel at home in the village, among Boone's friends. After Boone's cruel treatment of Mowgli, Katherine realizes she cannot marry Boone, so her father decides to send her back to England.Meanwhile, Boone and his friends (Buldeo, Tabaqui, Lieutenant Wilkins, and Sergeant Harley) gather some bandits to capture Mowgli in order to find out where the treasure is. The men shoot and badly wound Baloo when he comes to Mowgli's defense. They then kidnap Katherine and her father (who is shot and wounded in the process) and use them as blackmail: if Mowgli leads them to the treasure, Katherine and her father shall live. That night, the group learns that Shere Khan has returned to the area and is following them.The next morning, Harley catches Mowgli escaping (from the aid of Bagheera) and gives chase, only to fall in quicksand and drowns, despite Wilkins' help. Mowgli then has an elephant take the injured Brydon back to the village and promises to rescue Katherine. Later, Tabaqui falls to his death when attempting to kill Mowgli. As the remaining group get nearer to the lost city, they hear Shere Khan nearby and separate. Wilkins accidentally shoots Buldeo in the leg and is then chased down and killed by Shere Khan. In Monkey City, Buldeo accidentally sets off a trap while trying to kill Mowgli and is buried alive, while Mowgli narrowly escapes. Only Mowgli, Katherine and Boone reach the treasure. In the treasure room, with King Louie and his fellow monkeys watching in amusement, Mowgli and Boone engage in a fight until Mowgli injures the soldier. Mowgli then escapes with Katherine, not before Boone tries to make up with Katherine by offering the wealthy life they would live together, to which she rejects. After they leave, Boone begins pocketing as much gold as he can, only to notice the primates have become silent; he is then attacked by Kaa. Boone falls into a moat at the center of the room and sinks to the bottom due to his backpack filled with treasure. The last thing Boone sees before Kaa kills him is the skeletal remains of people whom Kaa had killed in the past.As Mowgli and Katherine leave, they are ambushed by Shere Khan: when Mowgli shows no fear towards the tiger, Shere Khan sees him as a creature of the jungle and accepts him. Mowgli and Katherine return from the jungle and meet Katherine's father and Baloo, both of whom have recovered from their injuries under Plumford's care. Mowgli now becomes lord of the jungle and begins a relationship with Katherine.Personal Reaction: I love the story of this book. Classroom Extension: After reading the book I would have the kids watch the movie and compare and contrast them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a story about a little boy Mowgli. At the beginning of the story his parents are killed by the lame tiger Shere khan . Shere khan vows to eat Mowgli. But Mowgli learns the law of the jungle , how to hunt and how to make fire! as he is learning this, the evil savage monkeys catch him and make him teach them to weave stick and do man skills. But then Baloo and Bageera his two friends try to rescue him.He eventually kills Shere khan with a landslide of buffaloes when he is acting herd boy at a man village. At the end he hunts freely with his brother wolfs.This book was very good. I recommend this book to many young readers. It helps you expose your mind to literature. There is lots of action in this book,there is lots of humor as well. I like how mowgli is brave . He is very courageous, he fought a tiger,can't get more courageous than that! Once again I recommend this book!