aotora's review against another edition
3.0
This one was okay. It wasn't as good as some of the other classics I read so far. Most of the stories were all right. I didn't really care for the last one though - it was just so boring. But the rest of the book was okay.
duffypratt's review against another edition
4.0
I can hardly believe I did not read this book as a kid, and really all I knew of Kipling are a few poems and quotations, and his reputation (which may very well be undeserved) for being an obnoxious imperialist. I'm going to have to scold my parents the next time I see them. How could this not have been in my kids library?
Frankly the stories here are a mixed bag, but the best of them are quite wonderful. I especially liked the opening story, the tale of Mowgli being kidnapped by the Bander Log, The White Seal, and Rikki Tiki Tavi. Any one of these would be enough to boost up an otherwise OK collection. With these four, I think the book is very good indeed.
I came to this book through Gaiman's Graveyard Book, and I think its quite fun to compare the two and to see how cleverly Gaiman transformed these stories, refreshed them, and used them sometimes to fairly altered purposes. The Bander Log, for example, are the ghouls in the Graveyard Book. But in The Jungle Book, its pretty clear that Kipling is making fun of democracy. The Bander Log are fond of saying that they know they are right because they all agree with each other. Gaiman has the ghouls be equally self important, but because they give themselves important titles, in contrast to Bod, who is Nobody. He's making fun of aristocracy. For these comparisons alone, I might go ahead and read the second jungle book.
I really enjoyed almost all of the poems, which frame each story. They convey such a pure joy for language itself.
Finally, I should say that I've never seen the Disney cartoon (or if I did, I don't remember it at all), and I count that as a blessing. Apart from the Graveyard Book, I came to this with almost no expectation at all (aside from the bad stuff I've heard about Rudyard).
Frankly the stories here are a mixed bag, but the best of them are quite wonderful. I especially liked the opening story, the tale of Mowgli being kidnapped by the Bander Log, The White Seal, and Rikki Tiki Tavi. Any one of these would be enough to boost up an otherwise OK collection. With these four, I think the book is very good indeed.
I came to this book through Gaiman's Graveyard Book, and I think its quite fun to compare the two and to see how cleverly Gaiman transformed these stories, refreshed them, and used them sometimes to fairly altered purposes. The Bander Log, for example, are the ghouls in the Graveyard Book. But in The Jungle Book, its pretty clear that Kipling is making fun of democracy. The Bander Log are fond of saying that they know they are right because they all agree with each other. Gaiman has the ghouls be equally self important, but because they give themselves important titles, in contrast to Bod, who is Nobody. He's making fun of aristocracy. For these comparisons alone, I might go ahead and read the second jungle book.
I really enjoyed almost all of the poems, which frame each story. They convey such a pure joy for language itself.
Finally, I should say that I've never seen the Disney cartoon (or if I did, I don't remember it at all), and I count that as a blessing. Apart from the Graveyard Book, I came to this with almost no expectation at all (aside from the bad stuff I've heard about Rudyard).
lauribooks's review against another edition
4.0
Vaya, no es lo que me esperaba para nada. Yo, como imagino que todo el mundo, he visto la película de Disney y pensé que el libro sería eso: Mogly en la selva con los lobos, la pantera... la película vamos, pero eso solo dura la mitad del libro. La otra mitad del libro son cuatro relatos narrados por animales en diferentes contextos y situaciones, como una foca blanca buscando un lugar para vivir, un marsupial matando serpientes para proteger a varios humanos o un elefante cautivo que se escapa una noche para realizar una danza con otros elefantes salvajes. Todos estos relatos me han fascinado porque no me los esperaba y me parece que hay que tener mucha imaginación para poder crear todo esto. Eso sí, hay un último relato del que no sé muy bien qué decir porque no me he enterado bien de lo que pasaba en él, era todo muy confuso y no me ha quedado claro ni el contexto ni los personajes que hay ni de que hablan. Es por este relato que le doy 4 estrellas, en vez de una puntuación superior.
alysmw's review against another edition
3.0
I cannot pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about this book but I found it really difficult to read. However I liked all the Indian names etc and LOVED the poetry at the beginning and end of each chapter!
feeohnaemily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
theverbalthing's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I loved this book so much more than I thought I would. It was much darker than I expected — though I'm not sure why, given that the one thing I've learned about reading classics that Disney adapted is that Disney made everything outrageously fluffy — and it was also broken into several stories, rather than telling one overall arc. I liked that a lot. The anthropomorphized animals in Kipling's stories are as intricate and interesting as the only developed human character, Mowgli (who only appears in some of the stories, as it turns out). In fact, I found the animals more interesting than Mowgli. And this novel reminded me of why I used to love stories about animals so much as a kid (and still do, to be honest). The introduction mentions a second volume of stories that I have every intention of reading now. Kipling's writing is well-structured and quick-moving, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
shahrun's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know why I'm surprised, but this book wasn't at all what I was expecting (I blame Disney!) it's actually a collection of 7 short stories about the jungle in India - only the first 3 featuring The familiar characters from the Disney film. There was one exception to this - The White Seal, which I felt was a little out of place in this book. It wasn't set in India or the jungle. Also each chapter ends in a poem. I can't believe how long ago this book was written and first published! (The 1890s). It has a truly timeless narrative which I know will be enjoyed by many more generations to come. This is an especially beautiful edition. I love all the Radom interactive elements and the gorgeous vivid colouring throughout.
leoniefnk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
bookdinosaur20's review against another edition
2.0
This is both Jungle books in one book. I enjoyed the first Jungle book. It was 3⭐️ for me but the second Jungle book dragged on so much for that it was hard to want to keep reading (1⭐️). Wanted to give up reading so many times. I can see where others would really like these books, but they weren’t for me.