Customer Reviews
Great 
2008-10-01
I wasn't really sure what to expect when I purchased The Jungle Books. I am familiar with Disney's story of Mowgli, but was very unfamiliar to all the volumes and the other stories. These stories were very interesting and moving -- the stories of Mowgli were exciting, and I loved The White Seal, Rikki-Tikki, and all of the others as well. What a great collection.
THE JUNGLE BOOKS by Rudyard Kipling 2008-09-12
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.
Review of Jungle Book BARNES & NOBLE Version 
2008-07-07
Since it appears that Amazon is combining the reviews for several versions of this book under one, I want to stipulate that I've read the Barnes & Nobel Classic version.
Actually comprised of 2 books, The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book, this is a collection of stories surrounding the jungles of India. A central character is Mowgli - a boy left in the jungle when his parents are frightened away and who is raised by wolves. His adventures as he grows up in the jungle are intriguing, frightening, enchanting, and certainly adventurous! This is NOT Disney! The way Kipling presents this material, it is easy to suspend belief and one could believe a boy was raised amongst the animals.
There are a host of other stories in each books that have nothing whatsoever to do with Mowgli, and that is fine. A couple even take the reader out of the jungle and into the frozen north - talk about a change of scenery! Still, Kipling keeps the reader fully engaged with the lives of animals and the effects of their environment.
A book of true escapism, but certainly not "just" for adults or children. Though the language might be a little more difficult to follow for younger children, older children should be able to stretch their imagination. And adults can fully appreciate the language of Kipling, which is rich and descriptive.
A thoroughly enjoyable read!
Super Reader 2007-08-27
Rather than being raised by apes, it is wolves that fulfill for the family role for the young boy Mowgli after he escapes being tiger snacks.
Shere Khan will continue to be his antagonist, and he will gain advice and assistance from other jungle denizens as he grows to manhood.
This also has the pretty cool heroic mongoose tale Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.
Heart pounding Tale 2007-02-22
"The Jungle Books" by Rudyard Kipling are adventures of Mowgli and friends. Mowgli is a boy who is kidnapped as a baby by a tiger. He is raised by wolves and taught the laws of the jungle by Baloo the bear and Bagheera the black panther. Mowgli is then kicked out of the wolf pack because of Shere Khan the tiger who swore to kill Mowgli one day. Mowgli learns all the ways of the jungle. He eventually kills Shere Khan. Baloo is a lovable bear who teaches Mowgli the ways of the jungle and how to respect it. Bagheera is a feared and wise black panther who befriends Mowgli in all situations. In "Kaa's Hunting", Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log monkeys. Monkeys are not highly respected in the jungle community because they have no leader. Baloo and Bagheera seek the help of Kaa the Python to rescue Mowgli. The stories "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "The White Seal" have nothing to do with Mowgli and his adventures, but they offer valuable lessons. The lesson in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" is to trust yourself and the loyalty in friends.
The story "The White Seal" is about Aleuts coming to Novastoshnah every year and skinning hundreds of seals. The only white seal ever born on the island, Kotick, wants to find a new island to stay on, so that the people will not know where to look for the seals. This way no more seals will be killed. Kotick wanders for many years in search of a new island to live on. Once he finds one, he goes back to tell the rest of his herd, but they don't believe him. He challenges one of the other males to a fight and if he wins, they will go with Kotick to the new island. In the end, all the other seals die because none of them would go with him, so he taught them all a lesson.
In "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", a curious mongoose wanders into a garden. He meets a cobra named Nag. Because mongooses naturally eat snakes, Rikki-Tikki kills Nag. Nagina, Nag's wife gets mad at Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and threatens to bite his owners. Rikki-Tikki crushes all of his eggs in the nest. I liked this story, but didn't like how it didn't tie into the adventures of Mowgli.
In "Toomai of the Elephants", a young boy falls asleep on his elephant. The elephants then march off to a hill far away. Here the boy wakes up to find thousands of elephants all stomping in the same pattern, at the same time. The boy has seen the dance of the elephants. When he returns to his father, he tells him that, but he doesn't believe him. I disliked how that this story also had nothing to do with Mowgli and his adventures.
Heart pounding Tale 2007-02-22
Young man-cub Mowgli's exciting life among his jungle animal family members and friends is complemented by lavish illustrations that offer young readers a perspective on colorful colonial India.
A Nicer read 2007-01-01
Though Walt Disney and Enid Blyton are my fav picks for children, The Jungle Book is a nicer read. Mowgli is just a loving character and as an Indian version of the Jungle Book is a fav among kids in Hindi, this is a sure pick for all children. Rudyard Kipling takes kids for a ride to an adventure with thrills and fantasies - it all depends on the taste and choice of read. However, I recommend this book as this is fun read and kids in my library too, love to read and watch The Jungle Book. Enjoy!
- ilaxi
What magic lies between the covers of this book! 2006-02-22
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these wonderful stories again, and it was a bonus having all of Rudyard Kipling's stories together in one volume. This book has all the Mowgli stories, plus other favourites like "Riki-Tiki-Tav", "Toomai of the Elephants", and many more. Reading these again affirmed my belief of Kipling's great skill as a storyteller. These stories had appeal for me when I was younger, but they have a different appeal for me now. Kipling's descriptions and characterizations are wonderful, and they put the reader right there in the jungle with Mowgli and Bagheera, and all Mowgli's other friends. We who love to read should not forget to read these wonderful stories once in awhile. Modern short story authors still have to go some to even begin to match these classics by a great author.
Wow Book 
2005-12-19
The Jungle Book is a story about a young boy whose life is paid for with a bull brought down by Bagera, a black panther. Mowgali lived his life in the pack until a tiger (Sher Khan) convinced the pack to hate Mowgali because he is a man cub and is a potential threat to them in the future. So Mowgali makes his life among men in the village and then is threatened once again by Sher Khan and after Mowali destroyed Sher Khan he took the pelt to the pack and told them off. I really liked this book but it used old English that was hard to get the hang of at first.
I liked this book because it had a lot of action. When Mowgali was taken to the ruins he was throne into a pit with poisonous snakes by the mutinous monkeys. In the story "Toomai of the Elephants," the elephants stomp down the area around them in a triumphant dance. In the part of the Jungle Book Mowgali had to kill Sher Khan, and he had to herd the bulls to go and attack Sher Khan.
This book was a little difficult to read. It was difficult because it was all phrased in old English like art, hath, thou, ect., . There were also a few different stories and they were hard to follow at times. There were a lot of characters that were in each of the stories and there were a lot of characters that had hard to pronounce.
In this book had a lot of animals and the humans weren't completely portrayed as protagonists. In the "White Seal" the humans killed the seals for their coats and all the seals that were always in constant danger. In "The Jungle Book" there are hunters who are just going to kill Sher Khan just for game and not for a reason. In "Toomai of the Elephants" the protagonist wasn't completely clear but I really liked how little Toomai observed the elephants and didn't pose harm to the Elephants.
This was a thrilling collection of stories with action even though it was a little hard to read. I liked this book because it had a lot of action, a lot of animal characters, but it was a little tough to read. In one of the stories Sher Khan wants to kill Mowgali. I recommend this book for people in sixth grade or higher because of the vocabulary and other parts of the book.
R. Roston
Altering Kipling's prose?! 
2005-10-03
Just read the previous review (about 'simplifying' the
language in Jungle Book). I am reading the ORIGINAL
text JB to my eight year old son (for over a week now),
and he's not once indicated that the language puzzles
him. He did ask me why Mowgli uses thee and thou
and wouldst while talking with the animals, but
accepted my explanation without demur.
Reminds me of the lines from an Elinor Wylie poem
"Our mutable tongue is like the sea
Curled wave and shattering thunder-fit;
Dangle in strings of sand shall he
Who smooths the ripples out of it."
Say it out loud, and feel what it does to your
mouth and face - that's what Kipling's prose
does.
