Posted on 05/30/2011 6:45:02 PM PDT by Zionist Conspirator
Yes, like all great stories, the tales in the Jungle Book appeal to children and grownups alike. I have re-read the Jungle Books several times over the years, and not too long ago I listened to an MP3 disk of them being read by a British actor, while doing some long-distance driving.
I have also re-read Kim a number of times, and just did so again last summer. Another great tale, which never grows old.
Kipling was pretty much dropped from school reading lists by politically correct idiots who thought he was a colonialist. Nonsense. He loved India and its people. Our children are missing out on a lot, and reading some very inferior stuff instead.
I have recently reacquainted myself with TH White’s “The Sword in the Stone”. Its an extremely well written book about King Arthur and it has some truly hilarious Monty Pythonish moments in it (daughter and I almost could not finish reading the jousting scene aloud because we were laughing so hard).
Wind in the Willows is an absolute masterpiece! I have an edition with E.H. Shepard.
For young children Thornton W. Burgess.
Far better than Burroughs. But I read ERB’s “Chessmen from Mars,” too, and ate it up.
Have you ever read Saki’s Sredni Vashtar? It’s short, and of course it has an unexpected ending.
http://haytom.us/showarticle.php?id=26
[It’s about a big polecat-ferret, but the creature doesn’t talk. It’s pretty remarkable all the same. ;) ]
Kipling's love of India (and his unapologetic English patriotism as well) come across loud and clear.
I cannot think of India without thinking of the Jungle Books. The Deccan means the "red dogs," and the Seonee hills is where the stories take place. Did you know that Seonee is an actual district of the state of Madhya Pradesh? And that it has its own official web site?
Definitely Wind in the Willows. Wonderful. But I’m more ashamed about not remembering The Once and Future King’s first book, The Sword and the Stone. Many beautiful stories about Wart’s animal metamorphoses—ants, geese, birds, foxes, etc. It also contained one of the most beautiful legends on God’s creation of the animals . . . which I’m not going to spoil for you here.
Great book, but not really about animals. Like Animal Farm, it was more about character and philosophy.
Kim was wonderful. So was The Light that Failed.
I most certainly have!
Sredni Vashtar went forth,
His thoughts were red thoughts and his teeth were white.
His enemies called for peace, but he brought them death.
Sredni Vashtar the Beautiful.
Lol. The only line I ever remember is, ‘Do this one thing for me, Sredni Vashtar’.
Saki really knew how to tell a story.
....”He is to India what Muir is to the great glaciers,....”
The PC crowd got rid of a lot of the great classics because the English was too complex (for Dewey’s dumbed-down-— Go Spot Go, curricula) and they did not like the ideas built on Universal Truth.
“Now Chil the Kite
Brings home the night
That Mang the Bat
Sets free...”
In no particular order of the putative age of the reader:
If you’re in the mood, the Pooh stories of A.A.Milne can’t be beat; Christopher Robin had many friends among the talking critters.
The Archy and Mehitabel books of Don Marquis aren’t widely known, but are extremely entertaining.
Edith Nesbitt’s works - especially The Phoenix and the Carpet.
Chris VanAllsburg’s The Polar Express.
Francis Hodgkins Burnett, The Secret Garden.
Sylvia Cassedy, Behind the Garden Wall.
Many others... if you’re interested, drop me a line and I’ll send a comprehensive bibliography.
The Disney movie definitely cannot compare
All the words used in the book, bagheera, bhalu, shere etc. are Hindi/Urdu.
The stories could sometimes be scary for a small kid.
As an adult I've travelled through the jungles of Central India and they are as varied as in the books. The panthers there are still flourishing, tigers not so much.
India is a marvellous place to visit -- the variety there is pretty incredible.
in 2009 Jan I took a motorbike ride starting from Bombay to the southern tip of India and followed it up in June with one up to Ladakh.
the country is incredible. Every 200 miles, the landscape changes, the culture changes, even the language changes. But yet people are very friendly.
I’ve been a big Kipling fan since I learned to read. We have a complete “Jungle Books” in hardback, purchased after the paperbacks fell to pieces from overuse.
“The King’s Ankus” is one of my favorite stories, as well as “Red Dog.” I haven’t read any to the Offspring lately. Maybe I will when we’re finished our current book.
Unfortunately (as I understand it), India is suffering from a major Maoist insurgency at present.
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