The Jungle Book

My son liked it

Print quality is very low. Hard cover has sharp corners.

Nice book. I wish these Usborne illustrated originals had illustrations on every page like Usborne illustrated stories series. But, then, the book would become too big. I have already purchased Around the world in 80 day and Alice in Wonderland. Satisfied with all including this one.

Johanna Basford does it again. A beautiful book, full of amazing images to colour. Once again the paper is exceptional quality, allowing for all colouring media to be used.If you don't have a Johanna Basford book in your collection, then go and this one, you will not be disappointed.I have all of Johanna Basford 's books to date and have never been disappointed, I fell in love with her art work from the first turn of the page, in the first book I owned,

Bought this book as a gift for my Jungle Book loving boyfriend, and I chose this published version specifically as I thought the cover was pretty and would look nice displayed.The first book came a bit bent up from shipping, and as it was to be a present I was being a little more fussy, but was told I could keep the first book and was sent out a new one which arrived in pristine condition! Great service, and made for a great gift.

I had a hard time choosing an edition when I decided to get a copy of The Jungle Book, which is the main reason I am writing this review. I had a fairly clear idea of what I wanted: all the stories, hard cover, something I could use with young students (which unfortunately ruled out the edition illustrated by the Detmold brothers - which has absolutely spectacular illustrations, but nudity is a bit of a no-no these days for teachers) and something that would not remind anyone of the Disney film, which is great, but the book is something else entirely. I am really happy to have chosen this edition! It's a lovely book, good size, with less than a dozen half-page black and white illustrations by Scott McKowen. There are a few unobtrusive footnotes which seem like they might prove helpful and a series of 15 questions at the end by Arthur Pober. There's even a brief explanation of the technique used to create the illustrations. I quite like the illustrations too, they are surprisingly modern and at the same time reminiscent of hundred year old wood-cuts.

This is a superb edition of Kipling's classic Mowgli stories. They are of course a product of their time, and it has to be borne in mind when reading. This is of course so with all historical writing from Shakespeare to Orwell. It helps that Kipling is a writer of staggering skill, able to show us much about humanity while apparently characterising animals. Some younger readers might struggle a bit with some apparently archaic language, but it only requires a bit of effort to understand. Quite often Kipling is using thees and thous to suggest that characters are speaking and thinking in languages other than English - which, being Indian, they would be. This edition is also fabulously illustrated by Australian Robert Ingpen. If you haven't seen any of his illustrations before, you are in for a delighted surprise - check out what else he has done.