A review by yesrachishere
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

1.0

The Jungle Book is a collection of short stories about all kinds of different animals. There are 7 stories and a small poem between each story. The first three stories, Mowgli's Brothers, Kaa's Hunting and 'Tiger! Tiger!', follow the story of Mowgli and how he comes to the jungle and is adopted and welcomed by a wolf pack. He learns all about the jungle from Baloo the bear and Bhageera the panther and that the tiger Shere Khan wants to hunt Mowgli. The next story, The White Seal, follows Kotick, a white seal who wants to find a new home for his people because he saw the seals being killed by islanders. The 5th story, 'Rikki-tikki-tavi' follows a mongoose who is invited into the home of a new family and saves them from the plot of some cobras trying to kill the family. The 6th story, Toomai of the Elephants, is a story about Toomai who witnesses the Elephants dancing. The 7th and last story, Her Majesty's Servants, follows multiple animals, mule, camel, bullock, elephant and horse, as they talk about their work and battle.

It took me WAY too long to read this 200 page book. I kept falling asleep and every time I thought about picking it up to read, I was dreading it. This is the worst classic book I've ever read. I don't think the writing was bad but the stories were just not entertaining. I had no idea that The Jungle Book was a collection of short stories. I literally thought it was just the story of Mowgli. I can't say I enjoyed any of the stories but if I had to pick one that I liked the most I would say The White Seal. These stories seem like they are most definitely for children but I'm not sure if I would be the child that would like these stories. When I was growing up, I saw all of the Disney movies and The Jungle Book was never one of my favorites. I really wish I could have liked this because I usually love classics but this one was just a no for me.