Just So Stories (Hardcover)

by Rudyard Kipling (Author), Barry Moser (Illustrator) "IN THE SEA, ONCE UPON A TIME, O MY BEST Beloved, there was a Whale, and he ate fishes..." (more)
Key Phrases: warm white milk, hairy uncle, set about with fever trees, Best Beloved, Pau Amma, Eldest Magician (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The graceful prose and pungent humor of these 12 tall tales (which include such favorites as "How the Camel Got His Hump" and "The Elephant's Child") place them in the same league with such children's classics as Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland. Kipling's verbal dexterity remains audible over time--even the openings of his fantastic fictions hark to a golden age of storytelling. Frampton's elegant, elaborately detailed woodcuts are attractive embellishments to this hefty 122-page collection. Stylistically, however, they are perhaps more suited to the tastes of adults than children, as they are neither as colorful nor as playful as the stories. They do not reach out and hook the audience in the distinctive, visually arresting manner needed to keep pace with this eminent author's topsy-turvy logic. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-5-- Those who didn't acquire the Just So Stories (Holt, 1987) illustrated by Safaya Salter have a tough decision now that Frampton has provided equally attractive pictures for this one. His edition has a more sophisticatedly primitive sense of design and color. The text is set in larger type, and there are many vignettes enlivening the pages. Employing a traditional woodcut technique, the illustrator makes effective use of high contrast between black and white, variable thickness of line, and the warm, rich colors suited to Kipling's exotic settings. Salter's pictures are quieter and more conventional (although her animals have human eyes), and her complex, textilelike designs in pale and elegant colors are easy to like. For those who can't decide between the two, Kipling's own eccentrically stylish black-and-white drawings are still in print (Schocken, 1987). --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; REPRINT edition (September 27, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688139574
• ISBN-13: 978-0688139575
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #173,924 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #12 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( M ) > Moser, Barry
  #24 in	Books > Children's Books > Ages 4-8 > Classics
  #28 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( K ) > Kipling, Rudyard

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

118 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly So, November 6, 2000

By	Barry P Wilson (Fruitland, MD United States) - See all my reviews

Kipling's JUST SO STORIES certainly rank in English-speaking children's literature right along with A. A. Milne's WINNIE THE POOH and Kenneth Grahame's WIND IN THE WILLOWS. They are fun to read to children 4-8, and even MORE fun for them to read for themselves at ages 7-11 (they're marvelous vocabulary builders --"the mariner of infinite resource and sagacity" <grin>). My English-raised mother heard the stories when they were new and read them to me when I was a child, I read them to my own children, they read them to theirs, and I believe that same cycle has been repeated among millions of families since the stories appeared at the beginning of the 20th century.

It is my impression that today the JUST SO STORIES do not enjoy the popularity with children (and parents) that they once had. That may be because they are occasionally "politically incorrect" in their depiction of historical attitudes regarding race and culture. Joel Chandler Harris's UNCLE REMUS stories and even Mark Twain's HUCKLEBERRY FINN are sometimes removed from local library shelves on the same basis. In this reviewer's view, inattention to the works of Kipling and Harris and Twain deprives English-speaking children of some appreciation of the culture and civilization in which they live today. Worse yet, it deprives them of the fun of reading FOR fun.

Rudyard Kipling, referred to by one reviewer here as "not a very good writer" was the first English writer to win the Nobel Prize (not the Pulitzer) for literature, in 1907. He was staunchly pro-Empire in an era in which Great Britain not only ruled the waves, but a third of the globe -- the sun never set, it was said, on the British Empire, of which he sang in hundreds of poems and short stories and novels which also deserve reading today.

But imperial/colonialist notes are hard to hear in the JUST SO STORIES, which Kipling wrote for the amusement of a young niece. The stories are meant for FUN, and all children deserve to have some. Get this book; read it yourself if you haven't already -- and then read it to the youngsters for whom Kipling intended it.

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming stories with a charming presentation., July 8, 2004

By	Gwyn Gwyrdd "geek" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just So Stories (Classic Literature With Classical Music. Children's Favorites) (Audio CD)

I recently purchased this set on cd with a gift certificate for my young daughter. The price tag may have put me off at any other time, but since I was getting it with a certificate, I went for it. I read these stories cover to cover repeatedly as a little girl and took great delight in the hilarity of the answers to such questions as "how did the leopard get his spots?" or "how did the camel get his hump?" Kipling's stories are marvelously nonsensical - which makes them fit for a child's world. However, it was not until hearing them read aloud on this very set that I realized his rhyme and use of repetitive words or phrases is very similar to our modern master of children's literature: Dr. Seuss. It would not surprise me to find that Seuss took his inspiration from the works of Kipling. This is not striking to a reader, but as you listen to his words brought to life by the human voice it is hard to miss.

Geoffrey Palmer, of As Time Goes By, is one of my favorite actors. His voice and interpretation of these beautiful stories enhances the experience so much that I was laughing out loud listening to him in my car. His dry sense of humor is felt in his characterizations of the cast and the lulling of his voice lends a calming, gentle, and sophisticated quality to the text. I now can simply not imagine these stories being read by anybody else.

Finally, the classical musical selection is superb and adds an intelligent whimsiness to the piece. I would highly recommend this set as a lovely gift for any child you find "tenacious and full of segacity". What a delightful alternative to the screech of today's cartoons and children's "pop" albums full of Britney Spears remakes.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Politically incorrect? - your children can handle it., September 25, 2001

By	W. Weinstein "William Weinstein" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just-So Stories: For Little Children (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)

Kiplings classic volume of stories concerns the great questions of history; How the Whale got his Throat, How the Camel got his Hump, How the Alphabet was Made and many other thorny dilemmas. The language is sophisticated yet often whimsical and children love to hear the words read aloud. It is tempting to scan ahead and change things, substitute more contemporary phrases for the old but, if you can, resist the urge. Kipling was a master of the language. His writing is balanced and fluid and while it may seem dated when taken piece by piece, its sum is far greater than its parts. Read The Cat that Walked by Himself and you will never look at your own pet in quite the same way again.