Product Description

How did the camel get his hump? Why won't cats do as they are told"? Who invented reading and writing? How did an inquisitive little elephant change the lives of elephants everywhere? Kipling's imagined answers to such questions draw on the beast fables he heard as a child in India, as well as on folk traditions he later collected all over the world. He plays games with language, exploring the relationships between thought, speech, and written word. He also celebrates his own joy in fatherhood. The tales were told to his own and his friends' children over many years before he wrote them down, adding poems and his own illustrations. They invite older and younger readers to share a magical experience, each contributing to the other's pleasure but each can also enjoy them alone, as more jokes, subtexts, and exotic references emerge with every reading. This fully illustrated edition includes two extra stories and Kipling's own explanation of the title.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15087 in Books
• Published on: 1993-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Fabulous
Incredibely funny, and so well told, the Just So Stories explain how everything, from the leopard's spots, to the alphabet, came into being. First read to me when I was a child, they grow better each telling and even now when I want something good to read my hand instantly wanders to this book on my shelf. Definitely recommended to children, teens, and adults alike, a super book all round.

This audio tape is a wonderful gift for any child .
The Just So Stories are a real pleasure to listen to. Tony Robinson, with his fantastic range of voices and tones brings to life a host of wonderful characters : man, woman and beast. Kipling's poetic language is thoroughly enjoyed and absorbed by my five year old son who requests the tape for every car journey, at bedtime, first thing in the morning (our first lie-in in years)and even of a rainy afternoon.He quotes lines from "How the whale got its throat", adores the story of the first cat "who walks by himself and all places are alike to me" and frequently comes out with gems of information about the pull of the tides and such like.This audio tape is great value for money giving two and a half hours of stories and poems with short well composed musical interludes. It is a far cry from those awful singalong tapes and is full of humour and interest that is enjoyed by the adults as much as the children.It makes a wonderful gift for any child and is a welcome distraction from the lure of t.v. and playstation.

Highly Recommend
I bought this for my nearly 6 year old son. He has really enjoyed listening to the stories. He can listen to several or just a couple of stories depending on his mood.