The Jungle Book (Illustrated Classics) [Library Binding]

Rudyard Kipling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2007 | Series: Illustrated Classics

The Jungle Book is Rudyard Kipling's classic tale of a lost boy raised by animals in the wilds of India. Mowgli is a young boy in the jungle. He has no human parents or companions. But what he does have is a bear, a panther, and other creatures who advise and befriend him. Together they face many dangers and adventures, as Mowgli finds himself in the clutches of the Monkey People, and confronts the wrath of Shere Khan, the tiger who separated him from his human family. Generating numerous stage and screen adaptations since it was written in the 1890s, The Jungle Book is one of the best-known and best-loved works of fiction in the world.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5–All three adaptations of these classic novels fall prey to the usual pitfalls involved in such a process. The bare outlines of the plots are provided, but character development, a true sense of place and time with regard to setting, and masterful description of the action all go by the wayside. Jungle Book is mistitled as it references only the Mowgli stories and moves from incident to incident so quickly that the law of the jungle morals in Kipling's anthropomorphic fables are lost. Treasure Island is written in a similar breakneck, choppy style, and Long John Silver, one of the most memorable characters ever created, is eminently forgettable in this telling. In 80 Days, the historic events that made such a journey even thinkable, like the opening of the Suez Canal and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, are never mentioned, nor is the International Date Line, which enabled Fogg to win his wager, mentioned, let alone explained. The cartoon illustrations in all three volumes border on offensive as no matter which country or culture is depicted, the dot-eyed faces are virtually identical except for minor variations in skin tone. Some illustrations make no sense, as when the action in 80 Days describes the servant Passepartout at the bottom of a circus pyramid, but the picture is of a Japanese tearoom.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
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From Booklist

Gr. 4^-7. In 18 rich watercolor paintings, Pinkney captures the sheer drama of the eight Mowgli stories and of the well-loved "Rikki-tikki-tavi." A handsome volume for collections of classic tales. Sally Estes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 40 pages
• Publisher: Gareth Stevens Publishing (January 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836876636
• ISBN-13: 978-0836876635
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,226,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Edition of a Classic, April 11, 2008

By 

Maria (APO, United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jungle Book (Sterling Classics) (Hardcover)

This unabridged edition includes both Jungle Book and Jungle Book 2. The stories are a wonderful length for read alouds. The Jungle Book is, of course, a classic and not in need of a review; however, if your only exposure to the Jungle Book is Disney, please give this a try. I wanted to commend Sterling Publishers on making a quality, affordable edition of this and other classics. The paper quality was nice, not thin or translucent. The font is also pleasant--not to small or cramped. I know this may seem faint praise, but so many classics collections are very poorly executed. The price is also very agreeable--only slightly more than a paperback.

134 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Thing, January 27, 2008

By 

Chris J. Sexton (Fillmore, California USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jungle Book (Hardcover)

My favorite books from childhood have always been Milne's "The World of Pooh" and Kipling's "The Jungle Book". Over the years I have purchased many copies of each as presents. Both can be difficult to find in versions unaltered from the original. I have found this to be particularly true in the case of The Jungle Book. Some folks just don't seem to get that Kipling had a pretty good handle on what he was doing. One does not tamper with a Masterpiece.

This version is the real thing. It reads word for word the same as the tattered, 40-year-old copy that I first read when I was eight years old. Add illustrations by Robert Ingpen that faithfully capture the emotion of the story and you have a real winner. For those who appreciate The Jungle Book as it was BEFORE it was adulterated by Mr. Disney and friends, this is a very worthy effort.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally Beautiful Reading, April 8, 2009

By 

R. Flores (Derwood, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Jungle Book (Sterling Classics) (Hardcover)

I bought this book to read with my 9 year-old son. We have the Disney books and movies at home but since he is an avid reader and I love Rudyard Kipling I thought it was time to find him the real deal and this book is it. I like everything about it, the font type, the illustrations, and the writing is, well... Rudyard Kipling. Beautiful, rich, provocative language that unleashes a child's imagination. My son and I devoured it in a few nights and after we were done it led to a really deep discussion on the differences with the Disney's version. It was a welcomed reminder that we can understimate both our children's capacity to digest the classics and their appeal to them.