Beth and Chrissi Do Kid-Lit 2019 – OCTOBER READ – Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Published November 23, 2019 by bibliobeth

What’s it all about?:

Twelve stories about animals, insects, and other subjects include How the Camel Got His Hump. The Butterfly That Stamped, and How the Alphabet Was Made.

What did I think?:

Apologies for the late posting of our kid-lit once again. Chrissi and I are so busy at the moment that we’re struggling to find time to keep up to date with this but we’re determined to finish our series this year. Interestingly, Just So Stories is I think, going to be quite a difficult book to review for us both. Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) Kipling’s Jungle Book which is a classic of children’s literature – much like Just So Stories. However, with some exceptions within this collection, I found myself skim reading some of the stories here and not enjoying them as much as I hoped I would have done. This is my second reading of the collection and a few stories were very familiar and enjoyable however, I couldn’t recall the vast majority of them which made me wonder if I had skim read the others on the first reading, just like this second experience!

Rudyard Kipling, author of Just So Stories

I really do love the sentiment behind why Kipling developed this collection. The first few started out as bedtime stories for his daughter Effie who liked them told “just so” without changing sentences or missing out necessary information. It consists of mainly stories of how animals got to be the way they are today and in this collection, they were either changed by other animals, human beings or by magical entities. For example, the crocodile who was responsible for how the elephant got his trunk, the man who was responsible for the whale’s throat (and in turn is the reason for why these huge creatures only eat small prey) and the djinn who gives the camel a hump as punishment for his refusal to work.

In practice, as a huge animal lover, this book sounds like a perfect read and to be honest, I do think the idea of how each animal evolved is entertaining and very charming. However, I just didn’t connect with a few stories and the writing style didn’t capture my attention and make me want to read on. I’ve read that in some editions of this book, Kipling has illustrated it himself and I feel that would have been an added bonus that I would have appreciated in the edition I read and may have even led to a slightly higher rating! However I have to be honest and just admit that the majority of this book probably wasn’t for me. There are a few stand-out stories like the above mentioned tale about the elephant and one entitled The Cat That Walked By Himself which has always been a favourite of mine. Overall though, I just couldn’t find enough enthusiasm to enjoy these tales as much as I’m sure the multitude of Kipling fans will.

For Chrissi’s fabulous review, please see her post HERE.

Would I recommend it?:

Not sure.

Star rating (out of 5):

COMING UP IN NOVEMBER ON BETH AND CHRISSI DO KID-LIT – The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy

Beth And Chrissi Do Kid-Lit – The Titles For 2019 Revealed!

Published January 2, 2019 by bibliobeth

Hello everyone and welcome to the reveal for myself and Chrissi Reads Kid-Lit challenge for 2019. We’re very excited for our list this year and think we’ve picked some wonderful titles, a mixture of old favourites, authors we’ve read before but are keen to read more of and new-to-us authors/reads. Without further ado, here’s what we’ll be reading this year. Join us at the end of January for our first post!

JANUARY – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret- Judy Blume

FEBRUARY- The BFG -Roald Dahl

MARCH – The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3)- Rick Riordan

APRIL- Demon Dentist- David Walliams

MAY – The Enchanted Wood (The Faraway Tree #1)- Enid Blyton

JUNE- What Katy Did- Susan Coolidge

JULY – The Dreamsnatcher (Dreamsnatcher #1) Abi Elphinstone

AUGUST- The Royal Rabbits of London- Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore

SEPTEMBER – I Capture The Castle- Dodie Smith

OCTOBER- Just So- Rudyard Kipling

NOVEMBER – The Worst Witch- Jill Murphy

DECEMBER- The Christmasaurus- Tom Fletcher

Short Stories Challenge – The Cat That Walked By Himself by Rudyard Kipling from the collection Stories To Get You Through The Night

Published October 24, 2015 by bibliobeth

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What’s The Cat That Walked By Himself all about?:

This is a short story about the beginning of domesticated life and in Kipling’s inimitable style we see a host of animals become the servant or friend of first Man.

What did I think?:

This story was first published as part of Kipling’s Just So stories in 1902 which I was sure that I had read but couldn’t remember this one at all! The writing has a magical quality and the story is so endearing that I can easily imagine reading it to children. The tale begins as first Man and first Women meet and start building a life together in a cave, even making a first Baby. Meanwhile, in the forest, the wild animals are looking on in interest, all apart from the proud Cat that is. He is determined that he is not put out in the slightest, after all:

“He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him.”

One night, the Woman creates the First Singing Magic with a shoulder blade of bone as the wild animals look on, entranced by the fire but not entirely certain what it all means. The Dog, led by his nose and thinking the smells from the cave quite wonderful approaches the woman and asks her what she is doing to be creating all these amazing smells. The Woman makes a deal with the Dog. If he will go out hunting with the Man and guard the cave at night he can have as many of the good smelling bones that he likes. Thinking that sounded like a pretty sweet deal, the Dog agrees and he becomes known as the First Friend of Man. The Cat is indifferent however and scoffs:

“This is a very wise Woman, but not as wise as me.”

The next day the Woman cuts long armfuls of fresh, green grass and once again, by the fire, makes a Second Singing Magic. This is very appealing to the Horse and he decides he wants to go to the Woman, beseeching the Cat to come with him. However the arrogant Cat only replies:

“I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me. I will not come.”

The Woman again offers an exchange to the Horse and manages to get a leash over his neck in return for fresh green grass three times a day. In this way, the Horse becomes the first Servant of Man and helps him in his hunting. The pattern repeats itself again when the Cow promises to give her milk to the Woman each day in return for grass although the Cat has been following his companions and his curiosity gets the better of him. He asks the Woman where his friends are and the Woman says that she has no more need for friends or servants so he should return to the Wild, especially as he is the Cat who walks by himself. The Cat is petulant and doesn’t see why he shouldn’t be allowed in the cave to sit by the warm fire and try the milk. So the Woman makes a deal with him. She tells him if she should speak one word in his praise he may come into the cave, two words and he may sit by the fire and three words, that he will be allowed to drink the milk three times a day forever.

The Cat has to use all the craftiness in his character to trick the woman into praising him on three separate occasions, but he manages it admirably. He is able to enter the cave, sit by the fire and drink milk. However, he hadn’t bargained for his three friends Dog, Horse and Cow to turn the tables on him so perhaps he isn’t the cleverest cat in the world, after all!

This was a lovely, lovely story that I’m so glad I found. It’s written in a sort of fairy-tale style, which is why I think it would be so appealing to children but I think there’s many things there adults would appreciate also. For example, I had to laugh when Kipling tells us that First Man used to be very wild too, that is, until he met First Woman and she tamed the wildness out of him! It’s also a marvellous tale of the characters of animals – the sensitivity of dogs noses, the speed and swiftness of the horse and of course, the independence of the cat. I’m not really a cat lover myself, I’ve had a particularly bad experience personally with them and I’m much more a dog person which is why I did have a little chuckle when Cat got his comeuppance at the end of the story. Great fun and beautifully written this is a treat however for all animal lovers.

Would I recommend it?:

But of course!

Star rating (out of 5):

four-stars_0