Into the Jungle: Stories for Mowgli

by Katherine Rundell, Kristjana S. Williams (illustrator)

Timed for the release of Warner Bros.’s film Mowgli in October 2018 and Disney's release of The Jungle Book 2 in 2019, here is a beautifully illustrated companion to Kipling's classic, by a writer of extraordinary storytelling ability, that explores its timeless themes in a careful update.

This wise and witty companion to Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 classic is likewise a series of connected stories about the man-cub Mowgli and his adventures among the animals in the Indian jungle. It includes all the original favorites like Baloo and Bagheera and gives female characters, like Mother Wolf, a more prominent role in Mowgli’s upbringing. The timely theme of the possibility of understanding and empathy across species, cultures, and genders will resonate with contemporary readers.

Genres: Short Stories, Middle Grade, India, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Fantasy

240 pages, Hardcover

Published October 2, 2018

About the author

Katherine Rundell was born in 1987 and grew up in Africa and Europe. In 2008 she was elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Her first book, The Girl Savage, was born of her love of Zimbabwe and her own childhood there; her second, Rooftoppers, was inspired by summers working in Paris and by night-time trespassing on the rooftops of All Souls. She is currently working on her doctorate alongside an adult novel.

Source: Katherine Rundell

Reviews

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only is this a book that introduces children to the wonderful world of 'The Jungle Book', it can easily be enjoyed by adults too. Katherine Rundell has provided a prequel and companion to Rudyard Kipling's classic novel which is loved by so many and by doing so manages to put her own individual stamp on the characters, from bear Baloo and Bengal tiger, Shere Khan to Indian rock python Kaa and Black panther Bagheera, Rundell tells us how they came to develop the personality traits we see in both the books and the film. Some characters play a greater role in this book than in the original, some a lesser one. Female characters such as Mother Wolf are given a more prominent role in man-cub Mowgli's upbringing.

I imagine it's a very daunting task writing a book so heavily influenced and reliant on an already established story and cast of characters but Rundell has done a fantastic job. Her writing is vivid and every description transports you to the jungle. She has managed to recreate the atmosphere from the original and successfully added her own spin on things. There are also some important moral messages within these stories on family, friendship, loyalty, honesty and good triumphing over evil, just as there were in the original. Rundell has also updated the moral aspect to include more contemporary themes, including understanding and empathy across species, cultures, and genders.

When 'The Jungle Book' was first published back in 1894 (by Macmillan coincidentally) who knew it would have such an enduring legacy? Rundell's backstory is a fitting tribute to a story that is now nearly 125 years old. Although the accompanying artwork of Kristjana S. Williams is only sampled here (presumably to make it readable via Kindle) it complemented the stories beautifully. I have pre-ordered a copy for my bookshelf as I feel that this is one of those books that will be a pleasure to pick up over and over and superior in physical form than reading it via Kindle or the like. I have no hesitation in recommending this and am positive that children will be delighted to read about the characters formative years.

Many thanks to Macmillan Children's Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

[Sw33t_heart89 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☀️ ci sono diverse storie su vari personaggi che vivono nella giungla.

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning for the Kindle version - the book wouldn't download on either my Oasis, or my Voyage - you get an error message saying the book is not completeatible with the device.

It did download on my phone, but the font is too small, and I could find no way to increase the font size.

Tried again on my Kindle Fire, it downloads, and the font is big enough to read. Edit - I switched from my 6" Fire to my 7" Fire - that was better :)

There are 5 new Mowgli stories, 4 centering around his jungle family when they were cubs - Bagherra, Baloo, Mowgli, and Mother and Father Wolf, and 1 around Mowgli himself. The stories were a treat, and are a complementary addition to Kipling's stories. If you love the Mowgli tales, you won't be disappointed. The author has done a wonderful job.

The illustrations are vibrant and beautiful. Might be worth getting the physical book, if you're undecided.

[Teolinda Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vilken otroligt fin tolkning av originalkaraktärernas personligheter och liv innan de hamnade i djungeln och blev vänner.
Jag som tidigare inte känt något större intresse för Djungelboken, varken som bok eller film, har med denna version blivit helt betagen.

Betyg: 5 mice out of 5 speak bear

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: Father Wolf wedged his human child between his paws and began to lick him clean.

Premise/plot: Mowgli's day is packed full of stories as he visits--romps, if you will--with his best jungle friends. Rundell provides entertaining origin stories for many of Kipling's original characters. There are five stories in all: "Before Mother Wolf Was a Mother, She Was a Fighter," "Bagheera's Cage," "Baloo's Courage," "Kaa's Dance," and "Mowgli."

The stories are not short. The shortest is a little over thirty pages, and the longest is over fifty.

Each story features beautiful illustrations.

The book cries out instant classic and not just because it's inspired by Rudyard Kipling's classic, Jungle Book. Rundell's storytelling is wonderful.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one very much. I'm tempted to even say that I loved, loved, loved it. It certainly went above and beyond my expectations. I found myself getting drawn into each story. My favorite story was always the one I was in at the moment. Perhaps with the slight exception of the last story. I read that story with some sadness--not because it was tragic--but because it was the last one.

I read this one in two days. Both days I enjoyed reading it while drinking tea. It was LOVELY and satisfying to cozy up with this one.

Original (intended) audience: Born circa 2008 to 2011.

[Kayleigh | Welsh Book Fairy · Rating 5 out of 5]

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Into the Jungle: Stories for Mowgli
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Katherine Rundell
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Children's Fiction
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 2nd October 2018
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 5/5

Into the Jungle: Stories for Mowgli is a collection of five short stories by Katherine Rundell that delve into the background of Rudyard Kipling's beloved characters, Raksha, Bagheera, Shere Khan, Baloo and Kaa. She talks about their origin, positively correlating each background with the well known personality of every individual character. Each of the stories are compelling; for both children and adults.

Every story weaves it's way into an inspiring plot, joining together at the end to form a cacoon of words around each origin tale. Katherine Rundell's narrative is storytelling in it's truest, most endearing form; each written word chosen carefully to reflect the jungle and combine respective personalities into one, languid account. Her stories not only give justice to the original children's classic, but add a depth to them, as well.

The illustrations are gorgeously intricate, detailed to an immensely high standard. Each picture enforces the imagery produced by the enthralling narrative and portrayed a stunning piece of the classic story. The decision and addition of illustration was a decidedly epic one, and bought to life a story where words could fail, I thoroughly drank in the pictures and explored them with not only my eye's, but shoved them in the face of my partner, too, so he could also appreciate how the stories and illustrations were making me feel. The effect for him was a little less, sure, but the envy was clear on his face.

I'm thinking this one will have to go on my bookshelf. My bookshelf looks and feels empty without it.

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🧚🏻‍♀️

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[Dawn Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine Rundell has put her stamp firmly on the classic Jungle Book by providing an imaginary background to the story. Some of the main characters have been singled out to flesh out their appearance in Kipling's classic, other characters play a greater role. Mowgli is depicted as the mischievous, lively child of Mother Wolf who scampers around the jungle listening to different animals tell their tales and Baloo is not the bumbly bear who is oblivious to others around him.
You can tell this is an author who loves her subject and wants to add her take to the well known story without detracting from the original narrative. It's a great idea to imagine well known characters' backgrounds and bring them to life to show why they act the way they do in a story. Although the tales are interwoven, in no way does one animal's tale take away anything from another's. The jungle animals are one intertwined ecosystem which man needs to protect, and anyone reading this, obviously knowing it's entirely fiction, would still want to preserve our wonderful world of wildlife with all its uniqueness.

[Museofnyxmares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review Published on: https://museofnyxmares.wordpress.com/...

*I was provided with an ARC of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m in awe of this book! I can’t even begin to explain how happy I felt whilst reading it. I know that this is essentially aimed at children, but I feel like it had such a complexity and depth to it that was stunning. Each of the back stories that Katherine Rundell has created for these well loved characters, have left their own unique mark on me. Some parts of the book had me laughing out loud and other parts brought tears to my eyes. This is definitely a shining example of why Children’s books should never be underestimated.

I’ve always loved The Jungle Book and so this is what initially made me request Into The Jungle. However this book has worked its way into my heart, closely beside The Jungle Book…actually I think I loved it a bit more. It definitely wasn’t a simple replica of the famous tale, it was imaginative and charming and stands on its own two feet. As much as I appreciate the original story, it was so lovely to learn more about those who make up Mowgli’s jungle family. There wasn’t a single story that I didn’t fall in love with, and what was even more impressive, is how the author managed to feed past into present. It was beautifully done!

If the stories hadn’t been enough to blow me away, than the illustrations in the book would have! I so desperately wanted to continue with the story, yet I couldn’t help but pause at every image, drinking in as much detail as I could. They were so vibrant, flawlessly capturing such vivid and intricate Jungle scenes. I know that there are going to be more pieces of artwork from Kristjana S. Williams in the finished copy and I can’t wait to see them. They really took the story to a whole new level. I hadn’t even finished the book yet, when I pre-ordered it.

The whole time I was reading it, I kept thinking about how much children would enjoy it. It was as comforting as being read a bedtime story, creating such a strong pull of nostalgia for Mowgli and his family. It would be a perfect bed time story itself. I feel like the author delved beneath the somewhat surface appearances of the characters, giving them such a weighty realness. They had real, complicated personalities, strengths, weaknesses. I especially enjoyed learning about how their newly imagined pasts made them who they were. Into the Jungle tackled such a range of topics such as; animal captivity, loss, family and friendship, the importance of community, seeing past others differences and a wide spectrum of moral lessons. I couldn’t fault it if I tried!

[Katy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, faithful prequel, stories about the characters you care about.

It's been a while since I read Kipling's original, but from the start the style and tone of this put me in mind of the stories and characters.

I loved these, five stories, each told to or about Mowgli the young boy, in the days before the stories of the Jungle Books.

There is humour as well as pathos in the origin stories of Kaa, Mowgli's wolf family, Baloo and Bagheera, and some wonderfully entertaining tales of the jungle linking Shere Khan to the characters and seeing the motivations behind the characters and how they might have come together for Kipling's own creation.

Clever, well thought-out, with fleshed-out animal characters. These are "stories of family and friendship, loyalty and jungle law", so quite loyal to Kipling's own themes.

Children will delight in small details: Mowgli's home "smelt reassuringly of wolf-breath and dry earth, unless the smallest of the wolf cubs, Bhedi, had farted."

There are characters that play walk-on roles that we all remember - Colonel Hathi for example.

And there is humour in Rundell's creation of the rats, here not a pest but rather a refined, "fair-minded and elegant" species who won't use one word when twenty will do: "'would you please to tate the first morsel of flesh of the delectable decaying carcass laid out by providence before us?'"

I thoroughly enjoyed this, it took me back to the reading of my childhood, and sits perfectly in my mind as a prequel to The Jungle Books. I can only comment on the text, not having seen an illustrated edition, though I imagine it would make an excellent gift judging by the cover (if I am allowed!) that I have seen.

A flowing style that feels older but isn't difficult to read for a contemporary young audience. The familiar characters will suck in readers, and the stories are exciting and rather funny, with superb links to the original.

For ages 9-14. And any adults who love the classics, this would complement a Kipling on the shelf.

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample reading copy.

[Katrina Southern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been fond of children's classics, and The Jungle Books have stuck with me from an early age thanks to animated cartoons and films watched when I was young. It was only in the last couple of years that I actually read Kipling's books and I liked the stories a lot. This collection by Katherine Rundell expands upon the stories of animal characters that fans of the original will recognise and love. I have to say that I liked it even more than the original!

So, if The Jungle Books are the coming-of-age and origin story of Mowgli, the man-child, then these stories are the same for the animals that he lives with. Raksha, Bagheera, Baloo, and Kaa. Each have their own tale to tell, and I have to say that I liked them all! I especially enjoyed Baloo and Kaa's stories, and it gave me a newfound appreciation for these characters that I already loved. Also, each story tied in with the original book really well and informed the characters that they became which was nice to read. They were accompanied by some beautiful illustrations too, Kristjana S. Williams did a great job!

I have to commend Rundell for cleverly referencing real-world issues in this book - namely empathy and understanding of cultural and ethnic differences, as jungle animals seem to understand better than humans that this is vital for survival. I wish there had been more to read though! I'd have liked to see a deeper dive into Shere Khan's story (we get a glimpse through Raksha's) and more of an understanding of the Great White Ape's role. Any fans of the movies or original books should definitely give this a read though!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We are never fighting only for ourselves. We fight for the survivors. Because somebody always survives."

This is a beautifully illustrated collection of stories which, although it adds backstories to several characters from the original books, doesn't require any prior knowledge to enjoy. I say this quite confidently as someone who saw the Disney film once as a child but never read the book!

Katherine Rundell weaves her usual magic to bring the jungle and it's inhabitants gloriously to life (Bagheera was a particular favourite). Four characters - Raksha, Bagheera, Baloo and Kaa - have the spotlight shone on them, before everything is tied together with a final adventure involving almost the whole jungle! Without being preachy for a second the stories impart some (much needed in these troubled times) messages of tolerance, teamwork, and fighting for what you believe in (and on behalf of those not able to do so themselves).

The illustrations are gorgeous and I can only imagine they're even more impressive in the book than on my relatively small smartphone screen. I would recommend this book for children of all ages, from 7 to 70!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Candlewick Press for this new and wonderful new gallery of five stories from Katherine Rundell. It will serve as a marvelous introduction to Mowgli and his growing up as he learns about the wise jungle animals that have become his family. Here again, we meet and learn the stories of Bagheera, Kaa, Baloo, Shere Khan, and others. Katherine Rundell’s books are favorites of mine as well as Kipling's stories, and I enjoyed her clever glimpse into the background stories of a few characters. Illustrations by Kristjana William's are fabulous in their vivid jungle scenes. An underlying theme is a cooperation among all the jungle creatures, borne out in the final challenge to save two small tiger cubs. Strength came in learning others' languages, working together to achieve a goal that wouldn't have happened otherwise and equality among all the cultures.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the course of a day, young Mowgli is told the stories of many of the primary characters of Jungle book. His mother Raksha, and how she was so brave, rescuing her brother from Shere Khan’s father; how Bagheera the panther came to live in the jungle; why Baloo the bear is so smart; and how Kaa discovered his special talent for hypnotism. Mowgli learns important lessons from each story.

Katherine Rundell has studied Kipling well, and the stories really feel like a continuation of the original stories. Kristjana Williams’ illustrations (Victorian engravings in a collaged format) give the book an old fashioned feeling. I highly recommend this delightful collection to both fans of the original stories and to those who haven’t yet discovered Mowgli and his jungle family.

For this and more of my reviews, visit http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com

[Nic Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful book, this is a great introduction to The Jungle Book for kids and a fab book for adults too. I have it on e-reader but plan to the buy the hardback as it's so gorgeous. The book is a series of short stories on each character, woven into a whole book. This gives us excellent given a development of the characters from the original Jungle Book, including some lesser known characters.

It must be extremely hard to write a book based on such a wonderful original book but Katherine does this very well. I think it's a delightful book which will be an excellent addition to any book shelf.

The illustrations are beautiful too and well drawn by Kristjana S Williams.

Thank you to Macmillan and Netgalley for the ARC. I apologise profusely that this is so ridiculously overdue.

[Tralemaniunlibro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recensione di Veronica:
Chi non ha mai sentito parlare de Il libro della giungla, e soprattutto di Mowgli, Bagheera, Badoo, Kaa e il terribile Shere Khan? È un classico entrato da anni e anni nel cuore di grandi e piccini, sia dal punto di vista letterario che cinematografico.
Dal 5 marzo, Rizzoli ha portato in Italia cinque racconti inediti di Katherine Rundell, che acquisiscono meraviglia grazie alle magnifiche illustrazioni di Kristjana S. Williams. E così, in men che non si dica, gli abitanti della giungla più ricordati di sempre tornano a farci sorridere e riflettere con i loro racconti e le loro avventure.
...continua sul blog: https://tralemaniunlibro.blogspot.com...

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine Rundell's take on a back story to the classic Jungle Book has great charm and draws you in to the lives of the characters with ease. Kristjana S Williams illustrations are beautiful and take the stories to the next level. I was very surprised to find a tear in my eye at one point - Bagheera's story really touched my heart - but there were chuckles too. With each chapter being a self contained story that also continues a main tale this would be a perfect book for sharing with children one chapter at a time. The book pays homage to a well loved classic and has encouraged me to rediscover the original, hopefully it will do the same for young readers.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was average at the time of reading, but I think it is one of those books that gets better as one dwells on it. It is not my favourite of Katherine Rundell's writing, but it does feel like jungle writing. The illustrations, however, were marvelous.

Some favourite quotes:

"Bagheera tried very hard not to look pleased; he did not succeed, not even slightly."

"A beginning is a precious ting. as delicate and fragile as a newborn starling."

"The tales all tell the same story: that we fight and keep on fighting."

"Before Mother Wolf was a mother, she was a fighter; now she was both, and there was nothing more deadly in the whole of the jungle."

[Marie (UK) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book which puts Mowgli and his friends back into the Jungle. Baloo and Kaa among others recount stories of jungle life that paint vivid portraits of both the jungle and life itself. Each carries with it a moral. I think they lend themselves beautifully to being read aloud they have just a spicing of fear or thrill within them and the morals would bear discussing with your child. Like Kipling I think Rundell's stories could be translated to film and I see this a s a book to be read both in schools and at home.

[Danielle Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 - I really enjoyed this book! To begin with, all of the short stories were wonderful and the accompanying illustrations were gorgeous. All of the familiar characters from the Jungle Book are included and a few of those are given great back story that allowed me to feel more acquainted with them. I especially enjoyed Baloo's story and the underlying meaning behind it as well as the last story which somehow managed bring together all of the stories and provided a brilliant ending to the story.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful series of five stories, as told to Mowgli as he makes his way through the jungle (trying to evade Mother Wolf and the telling off he thinks is coming!) Each story is narrated by one of the animals and tells the backstory of one of the others, with the stories giving a brilliant new depth to each of the characters, while at the same time staying true to Kipling's original depictions of them.

Mother Wolf's story is one of the reckless invincibility of youth, female ferocity, loyalty and love. Bagheera's solemn, often solitary nature is perfectly explained by his story - one of loss, freedom and the ways of the wild. Kaa's story was the most surprising to me, while Baloo's was without a doubt my absolute favourite of the bunch - a story of intelligence, courage, defying expectations and challenging preconceptions. While Shere Khan doesn't have his own chapter, his story also threads through the book and, like Baloo's, is one of the ones that I enjoyed most.

Mowgli's own character - one of a typical child: selfish, blunt and arrogant at times; carefree, mischievous and friendly at others, but always full of life - is gradually drawn from each of these encounters before the final chapter shows just how much of life, loyalty, courage and respect he has learned from his jungle family.

These individual stories weave together as the book progresses to create the central plot of the book, which has a much more modern feel to it, despite still being rooted in the characters and events of the original. It is an exciting and colourful tale which comes to a head quickly, as quick-thinking, creativity and teamwork make for a dramatic and gripping finale. It has all the ingredients needed to be a hit with young readers today, whether they are familiar with the original or not.

Important messages about diversity and celebrating differences, as well as the impact of man on nature, run through the book too and are written into the story in the very best way: it's not at all shouty, preachy or shoe-horned in, but it makes the points in no uncertain terms that, as Bagheera finds: "To be alive is to be wild and various."

Full of warmth, humour and life, and perfectly complemented by beautiful, bold illustrations - this is an adventure for all ages. Those familiar with Kipling's Jungle Book will relish the chance to delve deeper into some of our favourite characters, and for those unfamiliar with the original this is a perfect introduction to whet the appetite or a thoroughly enjoyable stand alone story bursting with jungle life.

[Adrienne Organa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply beautiful book! The rich language and details that Rundell uses to immerse you into her works are ever present in this middle grade delight. Paired with lovely illustrations, this is a true work of art and will delight readers young and old.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cool collection of stories for elementary and middle grade readers to enjoy the Jungle Book series. It's filled with prequel stories of the "adult" characters in Mowgli's life. Also, the illustrations are amazing!

[EJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously not a patch on the original stories and one full star is deducted for the use of the word 'OK' (really, Katherine Rundell? I expected better from you.) but overall a fun collection of Jungle stories.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem by Rundell; I look forward to sharing it with my children when we have seen Mowgli.

[Leslie Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always like the Mowgli stories; these are made-up back stories, enjoyable. Nice illustrations.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My, and my children's, favourite contemporary children's book writer.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this as an audiobook and felt that the unnecessary and completely random sound effects spoilt the overall effect. Nice easy read though.

[donna craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely stunning pictures and it was so lovely to read about other animals in this adaptation of The Jungle Book

[Nathaniel Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost manages to capture the magic and style of Kipling’s original Mowgli stories. Gorgeously illustrated throughout too!

[Lisa]

This wasn't quite for me but I admire what it was going for, and as a way of introducing The Jungle Book/themes.