Just So Stories »

Jonathan Stroud is the author of the Bartimaeus Trilogy and other fantasy books for children.

Drawing from the oral storytelling traditions of India and Africa, Noble prizewinner Rudyard Kipling's vigorous, amusing tales offer imaginative answers to unanswered questions about animals and provide little pearls of wisdom. These classic tales, filled with playfully clever animals and people have entertained young and old alike for over a hundred years.

Children's Literature

I spent an enjoyable evening rereading Kipling's marvelous creation stories. His hungry whale and imperious butterfly came to life again, while "How the First Letter Was Written" and "How the Alphabet Was Made" reiterated the joys of discovery. Barry Moser's illustrations are very fine, with just the right touch of humor and slyness-particularly his disdainfully "humphing" camel. The only thing missing was an eager audience. These stories cry out to be read aloud, as Kipling himself once did for his own children.