Into the Jungle: Stories for Mowgli

by Katherine Rundell, Kristjana S. Williams (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536207880
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	10/02/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	40 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Katherine Rundell was born in Kent, England, and raised in Zimbabwe. She is a fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and the author of numerous award-winning books for children, most recently The Explorer, winner of the 2017 Costa Children’s Book Award. She has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal and won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Katherine Rundell lives in Oxford, England.

Icelandic-born Kristjana S. Williams is an award-winning illustrator and designer whose commissions include art for the Rio Olympic Games and The Wonder Garden, written by Jenny Broom.

Editorial Reviews

Most children (and most parents) are more likely to have seen the Disney versions of The Jungle Book than to have read Rudyard Kipling's 19th-century story collection…But you don't have to be well-versed in either to enjoy Into the Jungle…an oversize, richly illustrated, heirloom-quality book of origin stories for the characters who populated Mowgli's jungle world…[Rundell's] lyrical words feel as though they were written to be read aloud in front of a fire in a slow, craggly voice…It's impossible not to imagine a room full of younger kids transfixed by the hypnotic action. If Rundell's storytelling doesn't do it for them, the illustrations surely will. Williams's richly drawn jungle scapes are equal parts gorgeous and haunting, an irresistible combination.

The New York Times Book Review - Jenny Rosenstrach

09/17/2018
Rundell (The Explorer) returns to the jungle in this retelling of The Jungle Book, a richly illustrated collection of five tales about the beloved characters, told to Mowgli as he dashes through the jungle. In one, Father Wolf recounts a story of Mowgli’s lupine mother, an anecdote in which she earns a reputation for courage and intellect by outwitting the vicious tiger Shere Khan. Rapi, a “gentle-eyed and soft-eared” elephant, narrates a moving story about Bagheera’s time in captivity with his sister, Gilhari, and their bold escape. The collection ends with Mowgli taking center stage to face off against the dangerous and mythologized White Ape, bringing the lessons of courage, family, and community full circle. Detailed, lushly colored collages of Victorian engravings by Williams (The Wonder Garden) are a pleasure to study. With its themes of nature and wildness, Rundell’s collection offers more bite than many a retelling and addresses the lack of female characters in Kipling’s original, providing a well-rounded collection of stories. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

It's impossible not to imagine a room full of younger kids transfixed by the hypnotic action. If Rundell's storytelling doesn't do it for them, the illustrations surely will. Williams's richly drawn jungle scapes are equal parts gorgeous and haunting, an irresistible combination.
—The New York Times Book Review

[The] follow-up makes for an engaging read, as Mowgli develops from a rather self-centered child to one who cares about his extended jungle family. Rundell's values-based narrative and Williams' earthy images reinforce the importance of different species' understanding one another and working together. Rundell emphasizes unity in diversity in this 21st-century companion to a complicated 19th-century classic.
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2018-08-14

In this modern companion to The Jungle Book, the man-cub Mowgli listens to the histories of several original characters—including Raksha, Baloo, and Bagheera—which helps him understand his place in the jungle and among his people.

The collection begins with Father Wolf placing Mowgli between his paws and licking him clean, as he would with any other pup. When Mowgli asks for a story, Father Wolf tells him about Mother Wolf, Raksha, and her encounter with and subsequent escape from the fierce tiger Shere Khan. At the end of the story, Brother Wolf finds Mowgli and tells him that Raksha is looking for him. Mowgli mistakenly assumes he's in trouble and takes off into the jungle, stopping along the way only to listen to more stories. Rapi the elephant tells Mowgli about Bagheera's escape from the Maharana's palace; Akela the wolf tells him how Baloo rescued his father from a group of villagers who had captured the older bear; Kaa the python talks about his experiences with a human snake-charmer. Barring a couple of places where the author has followed Kipling's lead with an inaccurate translation (Raksha means "to protect" and not "demon"—Raakshas—as the text suggests), her follow-up makes for an engaging read, as Mowgli develops from a rather self-centered child to one who cares about his extended jungle family. Rundell's values-based narrative and Williams' earthy images reinforce the importance of different species' understanding one another and working together.

Rundell emphasizes unity in diversity in this 21st-century companion to a complicated 19th-century classic. (Fantasy. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews