7 h 12 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does courage look like when a mongoose, a man-cub and a small boy face dangers far larger than themselves?
The Kipling Reader brings together short stories by Rudyard Kipling about animals, children and army life in India. Its selections include Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Mowgli's Brothers and Wee Willie Winkie. Across a garden, the jungle and an army station, small lives carry high stakes, and bravery means more than being strong.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi finds a home with a family, but the cobras Nag and Nagaina threaten their garden. Mowgli grows among wolves, learning the jungle's rules from Baloo while Shere Khan wants him for himself. Meanwhile, young Percival William Williams takes his soldier's honour seriously when someone he loves faces danger.
What you’ll discover
- A garden under threat Follow a curious mongoose as protecting his new family brings him face to face with cobras.
- A place among wolves Meet Mowgli, a human child whose survival depends on learning how the jungle works.
- Teachers in the wild Discover Baloo's lessons and Bagheera's care as Mowgli finds his place among the wolves.
- A boy's serious honour Meet Wee Willie Winkie, a colonel's young son determined to protect a friend.
- Courage in small bodies Explore what bravery costs through vivid tales of duty, danger and those we protect.
Who will love it
For readers who love animal adventures, India and plain courage, and for parents and teachers looking for stories to share aloud. This collection offers an easy way into Kipling's tales of children, animals and bravery.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A half-drowned mongoose finds a new home
- Two cobras rule the garden
- A man-cub is adopted by the wolves
- The Law of the Jungle teaches a boy
- A small boy decides he must act
- Courage, duty and the way Kipling tells it
Who’s who
- Rikki-Tikki-TaviA curious young mongoose who is washed out of his burrow, adopted by an English family, and ready to protect them.
- Nag and NagainaTwo large cobras who treat the bungalow garden as their own and see the mongoose as a threat.
- MowgliA human child raised by wolves in the Seeonee hills, who must learn the jungle's rules to survive.
- Shere KhanA lame tiger who hunts the jungle and wants the man-cub for himself.
- BagheeraA black panther who watches over Mowgli and speaks up for his place among the wolves.
- BalooA big brown bear who teaches the wolf cubs, and Mowgli above all, the Law of the Jungle.
- Wee Willie WinkiePercival William Williams, a stubborn small son of a colonel, who takes his soldier's honour very seriously.
- Miss AllardyceA young woman at the army station, a friend the boy has chosen to look after.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 7 h 12 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Der Kipling-Leseband: Ausgewählte Werke von Rudyard Kipling
A young mongoose faces two cobras in a family's garden, while a child raised by wolves learns the jungle's rules.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Kipling Reader gathers stories chosen from the books of Rudyard Kipling, who was born in India in 1865 and became one of the best-paid writers in the English-speaking world. The selections lean toward the tales he wrote about animals, children and the British army in India.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A half-drowned mongoose finds a new home
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi opens after a summer flood in India. A young mongoose is swept from his burrow and carried down a ditch. He is found lying in the middle of a garden path, nearly drowned and very tired. A small English boy named Teddy picks him up, and his parents wrap him in cotton wool and warm him.
The mongoose recovers fast, and he is a creature of boundless curiosity. His whole nature is summed up in the motto of the mongoose family, which is to run and find out. He explores the bungalow, climbs onto the dinner table, and pokes his nose into the ink and into the bathroom. The family expects trouble. Instead they find that he is clever, friendly and eager to belong to the household.
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What is The Kipling Reader?
It is a selection of stories taken from Rudyard Kipling's books. It brings together tales about animals, children and life in India, chosen to give readers an easy first taste of his shorter fiction.
What is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi about?
It tells of a young mongoose adopted by an English family in India. He explores their bungalow, makes friends with garden creatures, and faces two dangerous cobras who live among the flower beds.
Who is Mowgli in Mowgli's Brothers?
Mowgli is a human baby who wanders into a wolf den in the Indian jungle. The wolves raise him, and he is helped by Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear while Shere Khan the tiger hunts him.
The author
Rudyard Kipling
1865–1936 · English novelist and poet
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was an English writer and poet born in Bombay, India. He lived in India, England and the United States. He wrote The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), Kim (1901) and Just So Stories (1902). He died in London in 1936.
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