Other editions of book Just So Stories

Just So Stories for Little Children is a 1902 collection of origin stories by the British author Rudyard Kipling. Considered a classic of children's literature, the book is among Kipling's best known works.The Just So Stories each tell how a particular animal was modified from an original form to its current form by the acts of man, or 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. The Camel has a hump given to him by a djinn as punishment for the camel's refusing to work (the hump allows the camel to work longer between times of eating). The Leopard's spots were painted by an Ethiopian (after the Ethiopian painted himself black). The Kangaroo gets its powerful hind legs, long tail, and hopping gait after being chased all day by a dingo, sent by a minor god responding to the Kangaroo's request to be made different from all other animals.

A delightful children's book filled with wonderfully imaginative and articulate animals. These delightful tales written by Rudyard Kipling, began as bedtime stories for his young daughter Josephine. If these stories were not told 'Just So,' then little Josephine would become impatient. Often considered one of the most revered children's books of all time, Just So Stories describes how certain animals received their most discerning characteristics, mannerisms and physical attributes in a witty and colloquial style.

A delightful children's book filled with wonderfully imaginative and articulate animals. These delightful tales written by Rudyard Kipling, began as bedtime stories for his young daughter Josephine. If these stories were not told 'Just So,' then little Josephine would become impatient. Often considered one of the most revered children's books of all time, Just So Stories describes how certain animals received their most discerning characteristics, mannerisms and physical attributes in a witty and colloquial style.

Rudyard Kipling was a prolific English writer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest authors in all of literature. Kipling wrote classics in many genres including the Jungle Books, Just So Stories, Kim, and The Man Who Would Be King. Just So Stories is a collection of origin stories such as How the Whale Got His Throat, How the Leopard Got His Spots, and many others. This book is considered to be one of the most famous in children's literature.

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was a British author and poet, born in India, and best known today for his children's books, including The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), Just So Stories (1902), and his novel, Kim (1901). Among his short stories are The Man Who Would Be King (1888) and the collections Life's Handicap (1891), The Day's Work (1898), and Plain Tales from the Hills (1888). He is regarded as a major "innovator in the art of the short story"; his children's books are enduring classics of children's literature; and his best work speaks to a versatile and luminous narrative gift. Kipling was one of the most popular writers in English, in both prose and verse, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English language writer to receive the prize, and he remains today its youngest-ever recipient. Among other honours, he was offered the British Poet Laureateship and a knighthood, both of which he refused.

The stories, first published in 1902, are pourquoi (French for "why") or origin stories, fantastic accounts of how various phenomena came about. A forerunner of these stories is Kipling's "How Fear Came," included in his The Second Jungle Book (1895). In it, Mowgli hears the story of how the tiger got his stripes. The Just So Stories typically have the theme of a particular animal being modified from an original form to its current form by the acts of man, or 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. The Camel has a hump given to him by a djinn as punishment for the camel's refusing to work (the hump allows the camel to work longer between times of eating). The Leopard's spots were painted by an Ethiopian (after the Ethiopian painted himself black). The Kangaroo gets its powerful hind legs, long tail, and hopping gait after being chased all day by a dingo, sent by a minor god responding to the Kangaroo's request to be made different from all other animals.