How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin

by Shoo Rayner

The Rhinoceros has lovely skin that fits just right. But what happens when he spies the cake that Man has just made? A special cake with currants and plums in it...

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories, Animals, Juvenile

48 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2008

About the author

Shoo Rayner is a British author and illustrator of children's books who lives in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.

He has written and illustrated over 300 books for children, including picture books, early readers, and chapter books. His work covers a range of genres, from adventure stories to humorous tales, and often features animal characters. Some of his most popular series include "Ricky Rocket," "Dragon Gold," and "Viking Vik."

In addition to his work as an author and illustrator, Rayner is also a popular drawing teacheron YouTube. He has over 380,00 subscribers to his channel, where he shares his knowledge of drawing and the making of children's books and offers tips and advice for aspiring writers and illustrators.

Overall, Shoo Rayner is a well-respected figure in the world of children's literature, known for his engaging stories, charming illustrations, and dedication to inspiring the next generation of young readers and creators.

(Well, that's what ChatGPT3 said!)

Reviews

[Two Hearts Homeschool · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the version we have with the timeless illustrations, and an inscription gifting the book to a little boy in 1948 :)

[Joy H.]

Added 7/31/13.

You can stream a video of this story via an Amazon Instant Video at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009...

"How the Rhino Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump"
Told by Jack Nicholson; Music-Bobby McFerrin

"The narration by Jack Nicholson, and music and sound effects by Bobby McFerrin are wonderful." -from a customer review

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was actually a video that I saw when subbing in a class of 1st graders. It is one of the fictional, short children's stories from Rudyard Kipling's book, Just So Stories. (Jack Nicholson was not the author, just the narrator in the video!) I looked up the author later when I got home and apparently he had written other stories about animals in that book, as well as other books. He was born to British parents in India, when it was a British colony. So he probably learned about many animals while living there. This story takes place in India. I also read that he named the overall book, Just So Stories, because when he told these stories to his daughter, Josephine, she would get mad if he didn't tell them "just so" in words that she would understand. There is also a picture book called How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin. The pictures in the video were based on this picture book version.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This origin story for children reads like a folk tale of people native to the region where the rhinoceros lives. Given his travels and innate curiosity and intelligence, it is possible that this story is an adaptation of one Kipling was exposed to while in Africa.
The illustrations are sometimes in full color and in all cases are very detailed. The story is written at the level of the child in the middle of elementary school. It is easy to understand and amusing as a trick is played on the bad-mannered rhinoceros. There are also a few potential giggles if read with the proper voice inflection.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the Just So stories are aimed at children, it is wonderful to see another side of Kiplings work and writing style. It is a shame a lot of his Indian Tales were not written like this or in this style. I am very glad to have read a lot of these works to really build up a much bigger overview of the author himself.

[Loren Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll be honest, I’ve never read anything else by Rudyard Kipling so I have nothing else to compare it to. This is cute, I admit, but not one of the best short stories I’ve read — perhaps Kipling’s others are more enticing. Either way, it was just average to me.

[Željko Filipin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious. I would never ever guess why rhino has wrinkled skin.

[Carla Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly Story

I remember my grandmother had this book and read it to me when I was very little. I have never seen the book since, but have fond memories of it.

[—✮ Mery · Rating 2 out of 5]

otro autor que detesto (es personal)

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review also refers to the audio cd version of this tale.

"How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin" is one of the "Just So stories" featured in the Rabbit Ears series and is probably one of Jack Nicholson's best performances yet! In this story, a rude rhinoceros gets what he deserves when he makes the Parsee Man angry after the rhinoceros eats his cake without his permission.

Jack Nicholson's narration is rich and sarcastic, especially during the scene where the Parsee Man gets his revenge on the rhinoceros and Jack Nicholson seems to be snickering at the entire ordeal. Tim Raglin's illustrations are beautiful and colorful, especially of the Parsee Man's hat being "radiant" in the sun's rays. Bobby McFerrin's music is creative and jazzy as he mainly produces sound from his mouth to make music. This book is certainly a joy for fans of the famous "Just So" stories.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this are so gorgeous -- I wish I had the entire series. I've never read Rudyard Kipling until now. I don't really know how to feel about the story -- it's funny, but I guess I also found it kind of worrisome, clenching in case it got offensive, wondering if it was already offensive. But I liked he language a lot; I didn't realize Rudyard Kipling was so much fun. There are plenty of old writers that stick around that aren't any fun at all -- Treasure Island is a really horribly boring book for instance.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

i want a hat just like the parsee's - with colors of many splendor!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is good, but there is a cassette with Jack Nicholson reading that is wonderful.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely re-telling (word for word in fact) of this classic tale.

Where it's at is the illustrations. The drawings of the Parsee are terrific!

[Tyrone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely read

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Los típicos libros que uso para aprender y practicar mi frances :-)