The Second Jungle Book

Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.3

Word count: 345K words
Chapters: 35

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard KiplingAuthor: Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 1, 1999

Editor's review

The Second Jungle Book is the sequel to Kipling's The Jungle Book, again set in the Indian jungle and centred on Mowgli and its various animals. Compared with the first collection, the sequel moves beyond adventure to touch more often on themes of law, belonging, growth and parting, and its narration combines a fable-like quality with the rhythm of oral storytelling. Kipling's depictions of jungle ecology, animal habits and the boundary with humans are vivid, and some pieces include songs and chants, giving the reading a marked sense of sound. It can be read as a children's adventure story, and is also suited to adults revisiting it through colonial-era literature, animal narrative and metaphors of growth. Note that some expressions carry the imprint of the ideas of their time and should be read with discernment today. Overall it suits extensive reading of classic English literature or parent-child shared reading, though younger readers are best guided by an adult.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young adult and adult readers who enjoy animal adventure stories and jungle settings
Learners who want to build narrative sense through extensive reading of classic texts in English
Literary readers interested in metaphors of growth and themes of law and belonging
Parents who need shared-reading material and are willing to guide children in discussing differences of era

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a single long, continuous plot and unused to linked short pieces
Young children without adult company who are sensitive to depictions of animal conflict
Those who want only light, low-conflict stories and prefer not to engage with the ideas of the era

Reading tips

Read piece by piece; after each, pause to review its central conflict and meaning.
Note how the songs and chants work with the narration; reading short passages aloud helps convey the rhythm of the language.
When reading with children, have them retell the plot before discussing passages of animal conflict or period ideas.
If reading the English original, keep pen and paper to note recurring expressions about the law of the jungle.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I read this without having read the first Jungle Book?

It can be read independently, as most pieces have complete plots of their own. Some character relationships and Mowgli's growth are linked to the first collection, however, so reading that first makes for more coherent understanding; going straight to the sequel will not entirely prevent you from enjoying the individual stories.

How does this book differ in content from the first?

The sequel still centres on the jungle animals and Mowgli, but deals more often with themes of law, departure and belonging, and some pieces have a stronger fable-like and parting feel. It is not simply an extension of the first collection but expands the boundaries and relationships of the jungle world.

Is it suitable for young children to read directly?

It is not advisable to leave it entirely to young children to read alone. The book contains animal conflict, dangerous episodes and expressions of period ideas; younger readers may need an adult to explain the background, filter tense passages and help them understand through discussion, rather than taking the book's ideas directly as rules of conduct.

What level of English is needed to read the original?

The text has literary description, animal names and songs, and is harder than ordinary simplified readers. It suits readers with senior-high-school-level English or above who can accept looking up words and reading slowly; if you only want the story, read a translation first, then compare selected pieces with the original.

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About the author

Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936 Author

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was a British writer, and this library holds sixty-five of his works. Publicly available material on his life is limited, so the following introduction focuses on his writings. He is known chiefly for fiction and fairy tales, often dealing with animals, the jungle, exotic adventure and youthful growth. His language is vivid, his narrative pace brisk, and his stories combine imagination with moral meaning. The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book, set in the Indian jungle, tell of the boy Mowgli among the animals and have been widely read; Just So Stories explains in a light manner how animals came by their features; Kim portrays growth and the search for identity in an Indian setting; Puck of Pook's Hill draws on history and legend to tell of England's past; and The Man Who Would Be King displays adventure and ambition. His works are often classed as inspirational coming-of-age reading and have had a lasting influence on children's literature and English-language readers.