Beautiful stories, that held me spellbound as a kid. Stories I had fond memories of, even now. Kipling knew how to hold his audience with his writing for children. Kipling told these stories to his children. He wrote them down at the Just so Stories were published in 1902. Just three years after the tragic death of his daughter.
He uses invented words, he writes in an amusing grand style. Each story includes a short poem. The first edition used Kipling's own illustrations.
They are written in an amusing grand style, peppered with long, and delightfully unlikely, invented words - a comical exaggeration perhaps of the formal ways of speaking Kipling heard in India. Each story includes a short poem, and the first edition features Kipling’s own illustrations.
Rudyard Kipling is a well know Victorian poet and story teller. His political views did not help his career
"His unrelenting craftsmanship, his determination to be 'master of the bricks and mortar of his trade,' compels respect, and his genius as a storyteller, and especially as a teller of stories for children," writes William Blackburn in Writers for Children, "will surely prove stronger than the murky and sordid vicissitudes of politics." "Although Kipling's overall career still awaits judicious critical re-evaluation," Blackburn concludes, "the general public—and especially the young public—has long since rendered its own verdict. His status as a writer for children is rightfully secure, and none of his major works has yet gone out of print."
Time line for Kipling
1865-:Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865.
1878-:Rudyard was sent to study at the United Service College at Westward Ho in Devon.
1887--1888- :His first prose collection Plain Tales from the Hills was published in Calcutta.
1889-:He left the newspaper and moved to London.
1891- :He wrote his first novel, The Light That Failed in 1891.
1892- :Carrie and Rudyard were married.
1892- :Their first daughter Josephine was born on 29 December 1892.
1896- :Couple's second daughter Elsie was born.
1896- :The couple left America for good in 1896.
1897- :When their first and only son John Kipling was born.
1899- :Their elder daughter died of pneumonia in 1899.
1907- :He was awarded the Noble Prize for Literature.
1915- :His only son John Kipling died in 1915.
1922-:Kipling was elected the Lord Rector of St Andrews University in Scotland.
1936- :He died of a hemorrhage on 18 January 1936.
How the Just so Stories came into being
The Just So Stories began as bedtime stories told to ‘Effie’ [Josephine,
Kipling's firstborn]; when the first three were published in a children’s
magazine, a year before her death, Kipling explained: ″...in the evening there
were stories meant to put Effie to sleep, and you were not allowed to alter
those by one single little word. They had to be told just so; or Effie would
wake up and put back the missing sentence. The Just So Stories where published in 1902, three years after the tragic death of his daughter. Josephine died of pneumonia in 1899 at the age
of 6.
of 6.
The Just So Stories have animals that are changed from an original form to its now current from by the acts or man, or by some magical being. For example, the Whale has a tiny throat because he swallowed a mariner, who tied a raft inside to block the whale from swallowing other men.
How the Whale Got His Throat — why the larger whales eat only small prey.
How the Camel Got His Hump — how the idle camel was punished and given a hump.
How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin — why rhinos have folds in their skin and bad tempers.
How the Leopard Got His Spots — why leopards have spots.
The Elephant's Child/How the Elephant got his Trunk — how the elephant's trunk became long.
The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo — how the kangaroo assumed long legs and tail.
The Beginning of the Armadillos — how a hedgehog and tortoise transformed into the first armadillos..
How the First Letter Was Written — introduces the only characters who appear in more than one story: a family of cave-people, called Tegumai Bopsulai (the father), Teshumai Tewindrow (the mother), and Taffimai Metallumai, (the daughter). Explains how Taffimai delivered a picture message to her mother.
How the Alphabet Was Made — Taffimai and her father invent an alphabet.
The Crab That Played with the Sea — explains the ebb and flow of the ties, as well as how the crab changed from a huge animal into a small one.
The Cat That Walked by Himself — the longest story, explains how man domesticated all the wild animals except the cat, which insisted on greater independence.
The Butterfly That Stamped — how Solomon saved the pride of a butterfly, and the Queen of Sheba used this to prevent his wives scolding him.
The Tabu Tale (missing from most British editions; first appeared in the Scribner edition in the U.S. in 1903).
How the Camel Got His Hump — how the idle camel was punished and given a hump.
How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin — why rhinos have folds in their skin and bad tempers.
How the Leopard Got His Spots — why leopards have spots.
The Elephant's Child/How the Elephant got his Trunk — how the elephant's trunk became long.
The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo — how the kangaroo assumed long legs and tail.
The Beginning of the Armadillos — how a hedgehog and tortoise transformed into the first armadillos..
How the First Letter Was Written — introduces the only characters who appear in more than one story: a family of cave-people, called Tegumai Bopsulai (the father), Teshumai Tewindrow (the mother), and Taffimai Metallumai, (the daughter). Explains how Taffimai delivered a picture message to her mother.
How the Alphabet Was Made — Taffimai and her father invent an alphabet.
The Crab That Played with the Sea — explains the ebb and flow of the ties, as well as how the crab changed from a huge animal into a small one.
The Cat That Walked by Himself — the longest story, explains how man domesticated all the wild animals except the cat, which insisted on greater independence.
The Butterfly That Stamped — how Solomon saved the pride of a butterfly, and the Queen of Sheba used this to prevent his wives scolding him.
The Tabu Tale (missing from most British editions; first appeared in the Scribner edition in the U.S. in 1903).
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