Although touted as a children's book, I think this reads much better for older readers. I know when I was a kid, Disney was my canon. As an adult, I'm ready to look deeper. The Jungle Book is actually a collection of stories--many which feature Mowgli and others that range through the jungle to the arctic. Most of them I enjoyed although I wondered why he wrote so many stories where animals talked among themselves with the odd human thrown in at times to tell the tales. I have to assume that he's conveying a nobility in nature that's lacking in human society (a twist in the 'noble savage').
Obviously the stories are rather fanciful although there is cleverness in the plots and how things are solved. What tickled me the most was the relationship between Mowgli and Kaa (the snake) --not the enemies depicted in Disney's interpretation. This particular edition is beautiful with its own ribbon bookmark as well as black and white illustrations. Perhaps for someone who reads these stories at a more leisurely pace, this would be a great edition to track down. I found mine at a thrift store and it'll probably go back to one since I don't plan on re-reading it.

Really liked Mowgli's story, but I didn't care for the others.

You know you've been in grad school when...you can't read a children's classic without analyzing its Orientalist perspective. To read this book then, you have to do that thing where you forget there's been advances in social perspectives and take Kipling as a product of his time—a British colonialist.

Now that we've gotten that over with, I was surprisingly spellbound by these tales of Mowgli and his jungle friends. Kipling had me in a thrall, and I wanted to believe this fantasy of being raised by wolves and having a giant black panther as my BFF. There was a darkness shifting underneath that kept me believing, and was much better than the sanitized Disney version. At times The Law of the Jungle gave me shivers. Kipling's pacing and language matches the story. Mowgli's ego eventually irritated me, but there's more! The tale of Rikki Tikki Tavi is simply an ole' fashioned good guy v. bad guy showdown at high noon (only with a giant Cobra) and it made me wish I had a mongoose protecting me, instead of my lazy, fat cats.

I wound up reading these books because I was bored at my parents. It was either this or The Origins of Swarovski Crystal. I think I made the right choice.

Glad I listened to this one-I might not have finished it otherwise. I liked the poetry but the stories themselves seemed a bit stiff.

Summary: Tales of Mowgli, the boy raised by animals in the exotic jungles of India; Rikki-tikki-tavi, a courageous young mongoose who battles the sinister black cobra Nag; Toomai, the boy who works with elephants; and more will delight listeners both young and old.

Mostly very good, particularly "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," "Toomai of the Elephants," and the Mowgli stories. "The White Seal" and the final piece were a little harder to get through.

It was cool to finally read this.

I love the personification of the critters! It's so funny how much I went around singing "Bear Necessities" and "Want To Be Like You" while reading this - but the story is so much richer!
The Riki Tiki Tavi has such a soft spot from my childhood/the 1970's movie ... and the surprising a great retelling of the story!
I was surprised and enchanted by the Arctic stories.

Definitely colonialism/racism undertones. Good to notice/recognize.

Makes me wonder how Animal Farm would compliment this or be an interesting comparison? (but I will NOT be re-read Animal Farm!)

A very interesting read. The book includes lots of shorter stories- not just the Disney version of the boy in the jungle though that is the first story. There's a story of a boy raised by wolves and his attempt to return to human society- the story of a seal's search for a place away from men- the story of the mongoose who protects him humans from snakes- the story of a boy who witnesses the elephants dance- and the story of a variety of animals that all participate in war though in a different way.

What an interesting book! As we should all know from other stories, The Jungle Book is not like the Disney version. Each are good in their own way, it was a great opportunity to read the inspiration for the beloved cartoon.

I was also interested when reading Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. I have vague memories of watching a cartoon version of this story as well, so I enjoyed listening to it.

Kipling is a little tough to read, but I'm glad I sat myself down to read him one day. Having seen the Disney version of the Jungle Book when I was a little girl endeared me to the challenge somewhat. As an adult, I can appreciate his stories so much more. Disney, to be honest, like most other animated adaptations they create, really doesn't do the original works any justice. There is much more action and darkness in these stories than I could have possibly imagined. Though they still retain their foreign culture morals, there's just a lot more to them that can't possibly be explained to children. I recommend The Jungle Books, which includes the story of Rikki Tikki Tavi, to all my friends.