The Jungle Book facts for kids
Embossed cover from the original MacMillan edition based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyard's father)
|
|
| Author | Rudyard Kipling |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's books |
| Publisher | Macmillan & Co. |
|
Publication date
|
1894 |
| Media type | |
The Jungle Book is a famous collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published in 1894. The stories are mostly about animals and their adventures in the Indian jungle. Many parts of The Jungle Book have been made into movies, TV shows, and plays.
Contents
About The Jungle Book
Rudyard Kipling was born in India and lived there for his first six years. He later returned to India for about six and a half years. All the Jungle Book stories first appeared in magazines in 1893 and 1894. The first books had pictures, some drawn by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling wrote these stories when he was living in Vermont, USA.
The tales in The Jungle Book are like fables. Fables are stories that use animals to teach moral lessons. In these stories, the animals act and talk like humans. Kipling included almost everything he knew or heard about the Indian jungle.
The most well-known stories are about a boy named Mowgli. He is an abandoned "man cub" who is raised by wolves in the jungle. Other famous stories include "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", which is about a brave mongoose, and "Toomai of the Elephants", about a young boy who works with elephants.
Each story in The Jungle Book starts and ends with a short poem.
The Jungle Book became a very important book for the Cub Scouts. This is a group for younger members of the Scouting movement. Rudyard Kipling even approved of this use of his book. Robert Baden-Powell, who started the Scouting movement, asked Kipling for permission. Akela, the leader wolf in the book, is now a special name for the leader of a Cub Scout pack.
Stories in The Jungle Book
The full book is available online for free because it is in the public domain. You can find it on websites like Project Gutenberg.
Here are the stories you'll find in The Jungle Book:
- 1. Mowgli's Brothers: This story introduces Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves. He gets help from Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. Mowgli later has to face the evil tiger Shere Khan.
- 2. Hunting-Song of the Seeonee Pack
- 3. Kaa's Hunting: This story happens before Mowgli fights Shere Khan. Mowgli is taken by monkeys. Baloo and Bagheera go to rescue him with the help of Chil the Kite and Kaa the python.
- 4. Road Song of the Bandar-Log
- 5. Tiger! Tiger!: Mowgli goes to live in a human village. He is adopted by Messua and her husband. But Mowgli finds it hard to live with humans, and Shere Khan still wants to harm him.
- 6. Mowgli's Song
- 7. The White Seal: Kotick, a rare white seal, searches for a safe new home for his family. He wants to find a place where humans won't hunt them.
- 8. Lukannon
- 9. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi: Rikki-Tikki, a brave mongoose, protects a human family in India from two dangerous cobras. This story is also a popular short book.
- 10. Darzee's Chant
- 11. Toomai of the Elephants: Toomai is a ten-year-old boy who helps care for working elephants. He is told he won't be a true elephant-handler until he sees the elephants dance. This story is also a short book.
- 12. Shiv and the Grasshopper
- 13. Her Majesty's Servants: The night before a military parade, a British soldier secretly listens to the camp animals talking.
- 14. Parade-Song of the Camp Animals
Main Characters
Here are some of the most important characters from The Jungle Book:
- Mowgli - The main character, a young boy raised in the jungle.
- Father Wolf - The Wolf who adopts Mowgli as his own cub.
- Raksha - The Mother wolf who raises Mowgli.
- Grey brother - One of Mother and Father Wolf's own cubs.
- Hathi - A wise Indian Elephant.
- Bagheera - A black leopard who is Mowgli's friend and protector.
- Baloo - A Sloth Bear who teaches Mowgli the laws of the jungle.
- Kaa - A large Indian Python who is also Mowgli's friend.
- Shere Khan - A fierce Bengal Tiger who is Mowgli's enemy.
- Akela - The leader of the wolf pack that raises Mowgli.
- Tabaqui - A sneaky Golden Jackal.
- Chil - A kite bird.
- Mor - An Indian Peafowl.
- Mang - A Bat.
- Ikki - An Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine (only mentioned).
- The Bandar log - A tribe of noisy monkeys.
- Rikki-Tikki-Tavi - A brave Indian Mongoose.
- Darzee - A tailorbird.
- Chuchundra - A Muskrat.
- Nag - A male King cobra.
- Nagaina - A female King cobra and Nag's mate.
- Karait - A Common Krait snake.
- Kotick - The White Seal.
- Sea catch - A Northern fur seal and Kotick's father.
- Sea vitch - A Walrus.
- Sea cow - A Manatee.
The Jungle Book in Movies and TV
The stories from The Jungle Book have been changed or shortened for younger readers many times. There have also been several comic books based on the tales.
Live-action Movies
- "Toomai of the Elephants" was made into a movie called Elephant Boy in 1937. It starred Sabu Dastagir.
- Jungle Book (1942) - directed by Zoltán Korda, with Sabu Dastagir as Mowgli.
- The Jungle Book (1994 film) - starring Jason Scott Lee as Mowgli.
- The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo (1997) - starring Jamie Williams as Mowgli.
- The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story (1998) - starring Brandon Baker as Mowgli.
- The Jungle Book (2016) - directed by Jon Favreau, starring Neel Sethi as Mowgli and Bill Murray as Baloo.
Animated Shows and Movies
- Disney's 1967 animated movie was very popular. It was inspired by the Mowgli stories, but it changed some of the plot and characters.
- Chuck Jones made TV cartoons like Mowgli's Brothers, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and The White Seal. These cartoons stayed closer to the original stories.
- A Japanese anime TV series called Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli was shown in 1989. It mixed parts of Kipling's stories with more modern ideas. For example, Akela stays on as an advisor instead of being threatened.
- In 1973, an animated movie called "Mowgli" (Маугли) was released in the Soviet Union. This version was also very true to the book's story. In this movie, Bagheera is a female panther.
Images for kids
-
Heroes of the Soviet animation film on a postal stamp of Russia
Related pages
See also
In Spanish: El libro de la selva para niños
