5 h 52 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 144 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 144 pagesAbout this book
In a jungle ruled by promises and sharp teeth, where does a human cub belong?
In Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Mowgli grows up among wolves in the forests of India. Baloo the bear teaches him the Law of the Jungle, while Bagheera the black panther watches over him. But Shere Khan wants the man cub for himself. Survival means learning what he owes to the pack—and finding where he belongs.
These seven stories reach beyond Mowgli’s world. In Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a mongoose guards a family’s garden from cobras. The White Seal follows a search for safety, while Toomai of the Elephants brings a young elephant handler close to a secret gathering. Animals of an army camp also have their place in this collection, where courage and loyalty carry real weight.
What you’ll discover
- A place among wolves Follow Mowgli into a pack where belonging brings both protection and duties.
- The jungle’s living law Learn alongside Baloo’s pupil as rules give shape to life in the wild.
- Danger without rules Meet the leaderless monkey people in Kaa’s Hunting, where Mowgli faces a different danger.
- Small creature, fierce courage Watch Rikki-Tikki-Tavi stand between the family that shelters him and deadly cobras.
- Beyond the wolf pack Travel from the White Seal’s beach to Little Toomai’s world of working elephants.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like adventure, animal tales and stories with a clear sense of right and wrong, and parents or teachers looking for tales to share aloud. If you want realistic nature writing or modern views of empire, you may find it less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A human cub joins the wolf pack
- Learn the Law, and respect its limits
- Monkeys, a python and a rescue
- Beyond Mowgli: a seal and a mongoose
- Toomai and the elephants' secret dance
- What the stories mean and how they work
Who’s who
- MowgliA human child raised by wolves, brave and quick, who must learn the Law of the Jungle and find out where he truly belongs.
- BagheeraA black panther who grew up in captivity, wise and cautious, who watches over Mowgli and teaches him how to survive.
- BalooA sleepy brown bear who teaches the wolf cubs the Law of the Jungle and grows deeply fond of Mowgli.
- Shere KhanA lame, proud tiger who hunts alone and wants the man cub for himself.
- AkelaThe old gray wolf who leads the Seeonee pack from Council Rock and defends the right of Mowgli to stay.
- KaaA huge rock python, feared by the monkeys, who helps Mowgli on his own terms and with great patience.
- Rikki-Tikki-TaviA small, fearless mongoose taken in by a family in India, who sets out to guard their garden from cobras.
- Little ToomaiA boy who rides the elephant Kala Nag and longs to see what happens when the elephants gather in secret.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 5 h 52 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 144 pages: USD 7.95 when you start free, USD 14.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 144 pages: USD 14.95 when you start free, USD 21.95 on its own.
- 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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The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling· 1894
A wolf-raised boy and other animals face dangers and duties.
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Language: English
“After you have read Kipling's fifty or seventy-five best stories you realize that few men have written this many stories of this much merit, and that very few have written more and better stories.”
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A human cub joins the wolf pack
The first story, Mowgli's Brothers, opens on a warm evening in the Seeonee hills. Father Wolf wakes and finds Tabaqui the jackal at the mouth of his cave. Tabaqui is a sneaking scavenger who brings news nobody wants, and tonight he says that Shere Khan, the great tiger, has moved his hunting to this part of the forest.
Shere Khan has been chasing a human child, and the child has crawled into the wolves' den. Mother Wolf, called Raksha, refuses to give him up. The tiger roars at the cave mouth, but he is too big to squeeze in, and she tells him the child is hers. She names the boy Mowgli, which means frog, because he has no fur.
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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.
“We be of one blood, ye and I.”
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What is The Jungle Book about?
It is a set of seven stories by Kipling. Three follow Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves in India. The rest tell of a white seal, a mongoose, a young elephant handler and army animals.
Who is Shere Khan in The Jungle Book?
Shere Khan is a proud, lame tiger who hunts alone in the Seeonee hills. He wants to kill Mowgli, the human child, and stirs up trouble in the wolf pack to get him.
Is The Jungle Book one story or many?
It is a collection of seven stories. The Mowgli tales are the best known, and they share a thread, but the seal, mongoose, elephant and army tales each stand on their own.
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