The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
"The Jungle Book" is a collection of related stories written by the English writer and Nobel Prize winner Rudyard Kipling. The stories were published in magazines between 1893 and 1894, each followed by original illustrations, some of which were done by the author's father.
Although the stories were written while living in Vermont, the author found inspiration in his childhood in India, where he returned for a couple of years after finishing college.
The stories were apparently dedicated to his daughter who passed away at the age of six, shortly after the first edition of the book was published.
The book consists of 14 chapters or stories about a boy named Mowgli who got lost in a jungle when he was just a child. When the mother wolf found him and accepted him as one of her own calves, Mowgli was raised and raised among animals that took good care of him and taught him the laws of the jungle. He lived happy and carefree, only the tiger Shere-Khan was spreading fear among the jungle animals, scaring Mowgli as well.
In this book, the animals are personified, becoming intelligent as humans, loving and emotionally attached to the child as if he were one of their own. Mowgli is able to talk to them as they were given the knowledge of human speech or Mowgli somehow managed to learn their way of communicating.
The animals described have high moral standards, laws that they obey, and teach Mowgli about them. In addition, they preach respect between all living beings and nature itself. The righteousness of animals can be used as a lesson for the behavior of people. In addition to the vicious killer tiger Sheer-Khan, humans play the role of the main villains in this book. Scaring other living beings, people are described as usurpers of nature without having any respect for other living beings; acting recklessly, unaware of the consequences of their actions.
The book is actually an allegorical representation of modern life influenced and governed by various politics. The book characters became extremely popular in 1967 after the cartoon inspired by the book was published.
Mowgli and his friends Baloo the bear, the Bagheera panther, the Kaa python, and the terrifying Sheer-Khan tiger became modern icons, instantly recognized by all children. However, despite the famous cartoon, all children should read this interesting and educational book.
Here you can read the summary of 3 stories: "Mowgli's brothers", "Kaas Hunting" and "Tiger Tiger!"
