Just So Stories

Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling
Published in 1902
108 Pages
Thibault’s Score: 4/5

This is the first (hopefully of many) books that I’ve reviewed which I’ve read with my daughter.

Just So Stories is a compilation of “animal origin stories” written by Rudyard Kipling in 1902 for his daughter Josephine.

Kipling wrote Just So Stories and the more famous “The Jungle Book” based on compilations of bedtime stories he remembered telling his daughter. Josephine tragically died in 1899 at the age of 6 of pneumonia.

This book went way beyond the head of my 3 year old daughter. The dated language; subtle references to geography; and strange creation of the world scenarios were too much. But she “sort of understood” some of the action about animals and it was a lot of fun. I want to revisit it when she is 6, I think that is when it will be the most age appropriate.

Each story seeks to explain how some animal came to be.

The camel has a hump on his back because he was grumpy and would refuse to work just saying “humph.” The Rhino has scratchy skin because he stole the cake from a Parsee who put the crumbs under his skin. The armadillo was created when a turtle and a hedgehog teamed up and shared abilities to outsmart predators. The elephant got his trunk after a crocodile pulled on his nose too long. My daughter especially liked the elephant story; but my favorite was the armadillo story or the crab story.

I don’t want to spoil any more. You should read this with your kids. Or just alone as an adult - it makes for funny reading even for larger readers.

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