Just So Stories

Written by Rudyard Kipling

Narrated by Geoffrey Palmer

"I am the cat who walks by himself and all places are alike to me," Here are the delightful stories which Kipling first told his own children before setting them down on paper. How the Camel got his Hump, How the Leopard got his spots, How the Elephant got his Trunk, The Butterfly that Stamped, and many others. They remain popular, entertaining every generation, partly because of the story and partly because of the vivid way they are written. To hear them – unabridged as they are here – is to enjoy them in their original form.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Jan 1, 2002
• ISBN: 9789629544089

Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English author and poet who began writing in India and shortly found his work celebrated in England. An extravagantly popular, but critically polarizing, figure even in his own lifetime, the author wrote several books for adults and children that have become classics, Kim, The Jungle Book, Just So Stories, Captains Courageous and others. Although taken to task by some critics for his frequently imperialistic stance, the author’s best work rises above his era’s politics. Kipling refused offers of both knighthood and the position of Poet Laureate, but was the first English author to receive the Nobel prize.

Reviews for Just So Stories

[auntieknickers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Every child should know these stories, although some of Kipling's attitudes may need to be discussed.

[jamski-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books you'd wish you'd read as a child...so you could, in turn, read to your OWN child. I would LOVE to have read this to PJ as a baby. The stories are enchanting and written very much as if Kipling were speaking to his own daughter, and each is more fascinating than the last, presenting fanciful explanations for commonplace questions, like, how the Camel got his hump. Or how the first letter was written. Or my favorite, what happened when the butterfly stamped his foot. Brilliant stuff, this, and it should be a part of every library...and on your list of books to read to YOUR child!

[deusxmachina-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just love these stories. They remind me of my childhood, and in their whole style and structure they're just made to be read aloud. In a very childlike way I want to nod sagely and tell the world, "yes, that's how it must have been that the elephant got its trunk or the camel its humps!" after every story.

[terpsichoreus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful and wonderful. Works of genius by a man who freed himself enough that he could give himself up to that genius instead of trying to make sure that it came out perfectly. As pleasing as his other works are, none I've read can match the joy, humor, simplicity, and odd truth of these.Like children's literature should be, these stories never lose their humor or punch. Despite some redundancy with actual myths and some cases of artificially lowering complexity for children and hence growing transparent, eminently enjoyable.

[jbarringer-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kipling's take on these stories, many of them ones he gleaned from the cultures around him, are lyrical and fun, and make for a great book. I wish I had had a copy of this one when I was a kid.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I only read two stories from Just So Stories, "How the First Letter was Written" and "How the Alphabet was Made." Both were incredibly fun to read, especially aloud. Kipling pokes fun at the stereotypes of parents and children with names like, "Lady-who-asks-a-very-many-questions" for the mother and "Small-person-with-out-any-manners-who-ought-to-be-spanked" for the child. In both stories the theme is the need for better communication skills and are meant to be read together. The first letter makes up the alphabet later on and one story is a continuation of the other. Rumor has it that both "How the First Letter was Written" and "How the Alphabet was Made" started out as oral stories, told to Kipling's daughter Josephine in 1900.

[elder_adok · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Written into my memory, with rhythm repeats and long words

[hamburgerclan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A nice little collection of short stories that tell why this or that animal is the way it is. Amusing tales written with a very engaging style. Check it out, O Best Beloved. Read it to your kids or something.--J.

[ellelainey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have always enjoyed Rudyard Kipling and Just So Stories was one of my childhood favourites.

[bookishbat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I will always love this book for the story The Elephant's Child. My father read this to me as a bedtime story and I will never forget him reading the portion of the story where the elephant's nose has been caught by the crocodile (oops, spoiler), and how my father would pinch his nose in order to change his voice to read that. Still makes me smile.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I especially recommend these stories as read-alouds. The narration is written directly to the listener and the use of repetition make these stories ideal read-aloud material. There are 12 stories in the book and we've been reading one story every day. Many of the stories are fanciful tales of how an animal received one of it's special characteristics, such as How the Camel Got its Hump and these were our favourite ones. Ds 7yo just laughed and laughed through these and I enjoyed them just as much as he did. Lots of fun!

[beholderess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The stories are still quite entertaining to read. I will definitely read it to my children should I have any

[bzedan_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A lot of these were re-printed in my 1963 World Book Encyclopaedia children's extra set (ten volumes covering famous places, people, classic stories, fables, general crafts and how-tos, etc). The elephant bit still gets me.

[sean191 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Just So Stories was just so disappointing. Like Aesop's Fables with less fun to them and mostly lacking morals to the stories. The language was repetitive and very dated and boring. I've been told Kim is a very good book, so I'll give it a shot, but I don't have high hopes.

[zhyatt-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rudyard Kipling's collection of fairy tales and fables formed the majority of my childhood literary diet. I can't tell you how much I was fascinated by his (maybe somewhat secondhand) myths of a primordial world, where men and animals competed and coexisted in more than one sense, where ancient untold wonders and unspoken secrets abound, and where a man helps his daughter design the English alphabet.Don't let my rose-colored glasses fool you - it's really an amazing work. Stop reading this review and pick up a copy.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I never actually read these as a kid. I remember having them read to me, but I never read them for myself. Which, as Phillip Pullman says in the introduction, is a shame, because they're wonderfully playful and easy to read, and even if there are words you don't understand (there weren't, for me now, but when I was little...) they're bright and lively and I can bet I'd have had more fun imagining what they might mean than actually finding out. These stories were definitely the kind I couldn't help but whisper to myself. I think they'd make even a non-synesthetic taste the words. I enjoyed the illustrations and the notes that went with them, too. In general they were just playful and fun to read, even now I'm all growed up. I especially liked the armadillo one, but perhaps that's because it included a character called Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog, and I do adore hedgehogs. The next one we rescue in our garden will have to be called Stickly-Prickly, I think.

[heather_brock-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A lovely gift from a lovelier friend.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Done in the style of fables, but about the length of traditional fairy tales (think Grimm or Perrault). The animals in the fables encompass creatures from all over the world (India, Africa, Amazon off the top of my head). I'd say about half the stories captures my attention (and maybe imagination). It feels a bit dated, even though nothing really sets it off (no outmoded language or horrible stereotypes). A decent collection.

[flamingrosedrakon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

You are first introduced to what I believe are the "Just So" stories actually in the Jungle Books, especially Jungle Book II, when they are at the drying up waterhole with the predators on one side and the prey on the other. From there other bits of "jungle lore" are woven in while this is where my interest with this particular book came to life. Kipling's "Just So Stories" are written more in fashion with Carroll's Alice stories. They are fantastical, have lessons hidden in them and at the same time are too frivolous to be taken at face value. Their age is given away by the subjects and how they are portrayed as well as the idea of the British Empire. Those who seem to be stuck on that mustn't forget in that timeframe how they thought or wrote those beliefs out wasn't looked down upon but rather commonplace. What I didn't like was the fact that the pictures were in black and white. Although I know that it was in keeping with the original the pictures were too dark to be able to see anything. The introduction of where he often added jokes and other trivia couldn't be seen nor the details. I would love for someone to eventually make some colored pictures, which could be tucked towards the back for those who are curious. Otherwise I did enjoy the additions that Puffin added in the back - an Author File, a Who's Who, a Some Things To Think About, a Some Things To Do, a Did You Know and a Glossary. These extras give an opportunity to get to know more about the book and author while not being so heavy that it bores you out or makes you want to toss the book while reading it. Most definitely loved this formatting.... So what is my favorite story? "The Cat That Walked By Himself" although I don't like the idea of the idea perfect men would throw things at a cat they meet and be considered for coming up with that. Otherwise the attitude hits the cat right between the ears.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Okay, I know that there is a racist element to this book, which I agree is terrible and hard to understand. That being said, I did like the stories and I enjoyed sharing them with my daughter. They are a compilation of "how things came to be", like how the camel got it's hump, how the elephant got it's trunk, and how to make your wives fall into line (umm..., that last one might also be not so appropriate...). Kipling uses a lot of repetition which my daughter loved, and was really effective in the storytelling. And his use of addressing the reader as "my Best Beloved" equally was effective with her (and me too, if I'm being truthful!) Again, full acknowledging that some of this is not appropriate now, or then, I still think this is a good read to share with your children. Maybe just do some editing first!

[yougotamber · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute stories of how the animals got to be who they are...

[lauraejensen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A bizarre collection of fantastical explanations for things such as how the camel got his humps. Clever, and imaginative, useful in the classroom as vocabulary building, and how-to's, as well as creative writing. Some of Kipling's attitudes are questionable, and may need to be filtered.

[studioloo · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I didn't bother to finish this book - had really expected more of it but actually the stories are not the kind of golden childhood story that you get with many other classic children's authors. This particular copy of the book has illustrations in it and large paragraphs that are placed as subtext in the middle or bottom of the page so they are somewhat interrupting. I just found much of the book nonsensical, but not in a good way. I think the concept had more potential than the stories actually were able to unfold into.

[dmmjlllt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My grandmother gave me this book, and while Kipling's stock has fallen somewhat precipitously since her day, this (along with the Jungle Book) remains a brisk seller and a staple of bookstore children's departments. And it's not too difficult to see why, when you read it. It's delightful.The conceit is that of a collection of origin stories: "How the Leopard Got His Spots", "How the Camel Got His Hump", things along those lines. They are of course, absurd and whimsical, and one of the joys of them is that they are whimsical in an Edwardian way. There is a way of being silly and madcap that belongs properly to our own era, not too difficult to find, and you find yourself subconsciously expecting that sort of feel here. What you get is different, in a different tone, let's say. Almost like a familiar melody transposed into a different key. It's refreshing and fun. He's sort of made up his own sort of traditional-storytelling diction, as well, which works like a charm.The best story, for my money, is "The Elephant's Child", but there are few true stinkers here. A true classic that deserves to be rediscovered.

[dgibson_212461 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Quirky and whimsical stories that give explanations for such things as an elephant's trunk, a camel's hump, or the tides. The tales themselves have a distinct non-Western feel, and could easily be mistaken for older, traditional tales despite being written by a Brit in the early 1900s. The tales are unique but written in an odd almost oral style that takes some getting used to. They might be better read aloud than read internally. Having enjoyed the tales as a child I am uncertain if they would still be appealing to modern children or if they're still appreciated even in the modern age.

[purlewe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is truly magnificent. I can;t wait to finish listening to this. Geoffrey Palmer is FANTASTIC reading these stories. And the music that goes along with them are so sweet. I would recommend this to anyone who loves Palmer, or who has children. I could see listening to this with kids on a family vacation long drive. It is about 3.5 hrs long.

[embejo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My favourite was ‘How the Camel Got His Hump’. The stories are short and funny, and each have a little message or something for the reader to think about. We have an edition illustrated by the author and he’s written lovely captions too.I’m so glad we own a copy of this one as I’m sure they are stories we’ll read again. And again. And again as each child grows into them.

[elizabethpisani_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you have never read this, do it now. I don't care how old you are, or how snobby. If you have even a modicum of imagination, the Just So stories are one of the great pleasure in life.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

These are storoes I have loved since I was a small child. Phrases from them e.g. "tidy pachyderm" and "satiable curiosity" were part of the family's language

[sriemann_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed these so much that I was crushed when I realized I had listened to the last story. The narrator was Geoffrey Palmer - I now have another reason to think he is marvelous, he was such a storyteller.