Just So Stories

Rydyard Kipling is the author of the famous The Jungle Book and here are his lesser known Just So Stories.

These mostly animal based stories have been entertaining children since they were first published in 1912, and they are some of my all time favourite stories

The seed of the idea for the Just So Stories grew out of the story "How Fear Came", which is a chapter in Kipling's "Second Jungle Book" of 1895 when Mowgli hears the story of how the tiger got his stripes.  

These delightful stories explain why the Rhinoceros has a wrinkly skin, how the Whale got a big mouth, how the Elephant got his trunk and why the Camel has a hump.

They are, though, very much of the time and Kipling has faced criticism for his imperialistic and sometimes racist views. This has created a question if we should include some of the stories. We do however want to maintain the integrity of the author and ask you to please understand that if written today, the tone would be different.

We want to include them as these short stories are filled with creativity, imagination and delight and will engage the imagination of young (and old) listeners alike.

We are very happy to include the wonderful illustrations that were published with this book. Remember you can download a copy of the printed book for you to keep. Listening, with the capacity to read the story at the same time, is a powerful way for your children to improve and enhance their English and at the same time entertain them with a wonderful new way of looking at the animals which inhabit their world.

We hope you enjoy and remember keep on coming back as we are adding new stories all the time.

"I always prefer to believe the best of everyone, it saves so much trouble." Kipling.

Enjoy!

How the Rhinoceros got His Skin

"Because, five weeks later, there was a heat-wave in the Red Sea, and everybody took off all the clothes they had. The Parsee took off his hat; but the Rhinoceros took off his skin and carried it over his shoulder as he came down to the beach to bathe. In those days it buttoned underneath with three buttons and looked like a waterproof. He said nothing whatsoever about the Parsee's cake, because he had eaten it all; and he never had any manners, then, since, or henceforward. He waddled straight into the water and blew bubbles through his noise, leaving his skin on the beach."

Testimonials:

"The book that made me fall in love with storytelling. I still have my mother's hardbound edition, with marvellous colours plates, published in the 20s. Kipling may have been a romantic apologist for the British Empire, but the man knew how to weave a spell in children's stories, and he can be quite playful and inventive with language." Tom (Goodreads)

"My main source of enjoyment with this book are from its amusing usage of language. Alliterative terms, onomatopoeic phrases, odd pairings of words and colourful imagery dotted each paragraph, making it both a highly visual read and one that will really shine when read aloud." Danni (Goodreads)

"These short stories are great. They're all explanations really of this things came to be. the comical versions, that is. They type that you could see a day replying with when he is putting his child to bed. "Well you see this is how the rhinoceros got his wrinkly skin..." Which is exactly how these stories came to be - Kipling telling his daughter bedtime stories.