Book Review: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book is a classic set of short stories and poems that has been adapted many times. The most adapted stories are the ones about the man-cub Mowgli, who is raised in a wolf pack and has a life-long animosity with Shere Khan the tiger. The original stories are different enough from the Disney and other versions to be entertaining and worth reading. Baloo is still a goofy bear but he does teach the Law of the Jungle to the wolf cubs, so he winds up teaching Mowgli too, in a more serious way. Kaa the snake is more of an uneasy ally, since he's the enemy of Mowgli's enemies at one point, thus becoming a proverbial if not actual friend. The Mowgli stories are a lot of fun.

But the Mowgli stories are just under half the book. The other famous story is "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," about a mongoose befriended by a family. Some dangerous snakes live in the family garden and the mongoose uses his wiles and his courage to fight the snakes and protect the family. The story is charming and exciting.

But wait, there's more! In another story, Albino seal Kotick discovers quite quickly how men harvest seals for their fur and searches for an island beach where the seals can live in safety. He travels all over the Pacific Ocean looking for a haven while the other seals just run through their regular life routine. He's an engaging hero though I am not sure how the story fits into the "jungle" theme.

Another tale, "Toomai of the Elephants," chronicles a boy's discovery of an elephant dancing ground. Humans (according to the story) have often discovered these "ballrooms" but never have they seen an actual elephant dance. The boy happens to ride an elephant one night and hides on the beast's back as a whole legion of elephants show up and do their dance deep in the jungle. The magical air of the story is captivating.

The final story tells of army animals (elephants, horses, mules, and camels) who brag about how great they are, though no animal shares the same greatness and they all have one (or more) flaws. They all have to perform in a military parade the next day. That parade shows how even though they are diverse in their qualities, as an organized group they are impressive to see.

Poems are interspersed with the stories. Most of them are songs that the various animals sing about or during their adventures.

The book overall paints an interesting fictional portrait of life in the wild (or semi-wild), giving the various animals very human traits. I found it very entertaining and am looking forward to rereading it in the future.

Highly recommended, even if you have seen movie versions.