Customer Reviews
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.
Wonderful Little Gem 2005-08-07
The Jungle Book was always a favorite of mine when I was growing up. It was one of the first books I read when I graduated to chapter books and even today it remains a favorite. I liked it then, as I like it now, because unlike so many modern children's books it doesn't water down the story or dumb down the plotline. I felt as if I wasn't being talked down to like in so many other children's/young adult books and to me that was important. It's somewhat misanthropic (when Mowgli is thrown out of the village) but I think it does have more redeeming values then most. I am proud to have a copy of these stories sitting eloquently on a book shelf where no other Children's/Young Adult books keep it company. I think even if you're an adult, if you've never read this book it's a must! The Disney movie made loosely, extremely loosely, on Mowgli's adventures always makes me want to scream. It's horribly tepid and completely butchered but I guess that's where I learned movies rarely live up to the grandness of books.
(Great Illustrated Classics)- Malvina Vogel adaptation 2005-06-21
The Jungle Book (Great Illustrated Classics)- Malvina Vogel Adaptation.
Totally agree with previous review.
- How dare she?! - it was my only thought when I opened The Jungle Book (Great Illustrated Classics) - How dare she to take the gorgeous, Nobel Prize winning language and replace it with her bloody nonsense?! And put the Kipling's name on the cover? Does she think children (for whom this book apparently meant) are primitive morons? Think again, miss Vogel. Think again.
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
"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.
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
