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therealkateclysm's review against another edition
3.0
I had always wanted to read these stories (never realized Rikki Tikki Tavi was part of this book!) but am just-somewhat underwhelmed. I think these books have a wonderful legacy, but they are definitely dated (wasn't expecting so much "Thee, thy thou"!). I hate saying that too, I really wanted to love these stories but mostly just wanted to get through it. That's OK though. I'm still glad I did!
neilcake's review against another edition
4.0
Superb selection of stories. I originally bought this in a fit of overenthusiasm when our first daughter was born. She's five now and I started reading it to her, but the language is a bit archaic and grown up for her. She pretended to enjoy it, but the clue was that she's just start jumping up and down on the bed when she was supposed to be listening.
Anyway, we got up to the end of "Tiger! Tiger" and moved on to something else. I'd been enjoying it though, so I decided to finish it on my own, and I've really enjoyed it. "Rikki Tiki Tavi" and "The White Seal" were real standouts and, to be fair, I'm glad we stopped reading together before that last one. I think she would have found it a bit disturbing. The stories are so beautifully written though, and it's really interesting as a document of colonial times in India. I think I'll go on and read the second Jungle Book on my own at some point as well.
Anyway, we got up to the end of "Tiger! Tiger" and moved on to something else. I'd been enjoying it though, so I decided to finish it on my own, and I've really enjoyed it. "Rikki Tiki Tavi" and "The White Seal" were real standouts and, to be fair, I'm glad we stopped reading together before that last one. I think she would have found it a bit disturbing. The stories are so beautifully written though, and it's really interesting as a document of colonial times in India. I think I'll go on and read the second Jungle Book on my own at some point as well.
sophiefaerber's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
daisygroves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
michelleyendo's review against another edition
4.0
His writing is hypnotic. It felt like stories told around the campfire
marcus_steffanci1979's review against another edition
3.0
4 stars for Mowgli, Kotick, and Riki Tiki Tavi; two stars for the rest
somekramers's review against another edition
4.0
We enjoyed this audio version - I was unfamiliar with The Jungle Book beyond the Disneyfied version, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be so much better and more than that. I particularly liked all of the songs.
whippycleric's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Having picked this up in a charity shop I thought it might be nice to read it to my son, and I’d quite like to read it myself having only ever seen the film. I know that some of the stories in the jungle book will not be age appropriate for younger children, but my son is young enough to not understand yet so it will be nice for me to know when this book will be good for him, and whether it needs minor editing…
To start with “The Jungle Book” is a collection of short stories with some repeating characters, and some of these were taken and adapted into a full narrative for the film, so it is quite different. The first 3 stories are those which make up the film, and are overall entertaining. Definitely has more killing than would be classed as appropriate for younger children, but has some good themes and fun plots for children maybe around 9 or so. These first 3 stories were exactly what I expected, reminiscent of the film but darker, the songs are particularly good at the end of each of these, and I’ll give this half a 3.5.
The second set of 4 stories are independent, and seemingly told by an unknown narrator. The White Seal, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi are particularly good and I really enjoyed reading them to my child. I expect these are also more age appropriate for younger children with only very minor tweaks when reading them. They are lovely short stories, each taking under an hour to read, The White Seal follows a seal's search for a new safer home for everyone, and Rikki-TIkki-Tavi follows the more classic hero vs villains narrative. I’d give both of these a 4 or 4.5 star rating.
The last 2 I found disappointing, much more focused around the behavior of people, especially the British in India which are romanticized heavily, unsurprisingly given Kiplings background. Toomai of the Elephants did make it a little into the film with dancing Elephants which are fun and probably the highlight of this story which feels very dated in it’s themes and morals. Finally Her Majesty’s Servants is very dated with some attitudes a bit out of place today. The setting of interactions between animals in the army could be a good setting to explore some themes however in this case it comes very colonialist and a touch racist, so best to avoid.
Overall it’s a good read for older children, and since it’s a collection of short stories you can just choose the best ones and avoid some of the more dated content.
bethanysimm110's review against another edition
4.0
Did you know that The Jungle Book is actually a short story collection? I was always confused as to why the Disney movie had such a peculiar name. When I learned of the book years later, it still rather perplexed me. Now it makes more sense, it's literally a collection of stories set in the jungle...it's genius!
As a child of my generation, know now that I will be comparing this review to the movie I grew up with. Yes, I understand the book came first. However the movie was first in my life, and if anything it helped me appreciate this book more.
The most glaring difference between these two mediums is in Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. In the movie we know Baloo as the fruit eating lazy bear looking for the "Bear Necessities" of life. Bagheera has a much stronger backbone and is constantly trying to push Mowgli to understand the reality of living in the jungle. It's quite the opposite in the book. Baloo is a strict teacher to Mowgli and even beats him when he does wrong. Bagheera mentions wanting to spoil the boy. Very different dynamic, but effective nonetheless. It was a fresh look at Mowgli's life in the jungle when read in the original story.
The biggest disappointment is by far the fact the King Louis didn't come from the book. We meet the monkeys, but King Louis does not join the fun, and surely doesn't start singing a song arguably more catchy than any song from Annie. What a shame. The song is stuck in my head just thinking about it...
Enough about the story we know and love, what about the other short stories? After reading Mowgli's tale, we move on to four other stories. One of these being the well-known Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, which I've already reviewed alone about a year ago. Who would have thought it was part of The Jungle Book? The other three I had never heard before, but only The White Seal stood out to me much out of the others. Not that the others were bad, Rudyard Kipling's writing is beautifully lyrical. They just didn't speak to me personally, but I could see others enjoying them immensely.
It's not the Disney movie, but for that reason I recommend this collection. It was a really fun read, delivered a nostalgic flavor, and was the perfect novel to break up some heavier reading.
As a child of my generation, know now that I will be comparing this review to the movie I grew up with. Yes, I understand the book came first. However the movie was first in my life, and if anything it helped me appreciate this book more.
The most glaring difference between these two mediums is in Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. In the movie we know Baloo as the fruit eating lazy bear looking for the "Bear Necessities" of life. Bagheera has a much stronger backbone and is constantly trying to push Mowgli to understand the reality of living in the jungle. It's quite the opposite in the book. Baloo is a strict teacher to Mowgli and even beats him when he does wrong. Bagheera mentions wanting to spoil the boy. Very different dynamic, but effective nonetheless. It was a fresh look at Mowgli's life in the jungle when read in the original story.
The biggest disappointment is by far the fact the King Louis didn't come from the book. We meet the monkeys, but King Louis does not join the fun, and surely doesn't start singing a song arguably more catchy than any song from Annie. What a shame. The song is stuck in my head just thinking about it...
Enough about the story we know and love, what about the other short stories? After reading Mowgli's tale, we move on to four other stories. One of these being the well-known Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, which I've already reviewed alone about a year ago. Who would have thought it was part of The Jungle Book? The other three I had never heard before, but only The White Seal stood out to me much out of the others. Not that the others were bad, Rudyard Kipling's writing is beautifully lyrical. They just didn't speak to me personally, but I could see others enjoying them immensely.
It's not the Disney movie, but for that reason I recommend this collection. It was a really fun read, delivered a nostalgic flavor, and was the perfect novel to break up some heavier reading.