We are of one blood, you and I

This was a fun read and I'm going to watch the Disney version now since I think it was fairly close to the Mogli parts of the book.

Kipling has a wonderfully immersive style.

If Grimm's Fairytales have teeth, then Kipling's The Jungle Book has dentures. Perfect for reading to get children to sleep, one way or another.

So fun to revisit these stories I knew so well as a kid. Now I appreciate the great writing.

After reading Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book, it seemed only right to read the book that he credited so heavily as a source.

I'm glad I read The Jungle Book but it was a little hit or miss for me. Only 3 out of the 7 stories are about Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves. If you're anything like me, then you probably assumed the entire book was made of those stories since Disney's animated and live-action film adaptations were the only thing I knew going into it.

Of those three stories, the first two are very good. The third one is also good, but unexpectedly violent. Realistically, the whole collection was a way, way more violent than I expected for something directed at kids, but I appreciated the non-sugar-coated circle-of-life attitude it took. Animals kill other animals, and that is reality. The original Brother Grimm fairy tales were horrifying before Disney softened them up, so I probably shouldn't have been surprised to learn the same was true of the Jungle Book.

The other four stories are about random animals. One about a seal, one of a mongoose, one about an elephant and his 10-year-old trainer,and one about riding animals (camels, horses, mules, etc.) having a conversation.

Of these four, only the one about the mongoose, Rikki Tikki Tavi, which I had read as a child is particularly worth the time.

Still, I'm glad to be able to say I've read it.