Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling
Buy on AmazonSeven tales that explain special things about animals, such as how the whale got his tiny throat, the camel his hump and the leopard his spots.
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"From one uncle, Kipling's "Just So Stories," with a gilt Indian swastika on the cover and Kipling's own ingenious illustrations."
By the Book: Cynthia Ozick · nytimes.com
"After lights out at boarding school when I was 15. I was in bed under the covers with a torch reading Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories."
By the Book: Judi Dench · nytimes.com
"I love these stories and the way Kipling addresses the reader as ‘Best Beloved.’ It’s so charming. His pen and ink work is superb. The way he drew is quite beautiful. Really fantastic. The lay-out again is wonderful to look at. He has such simple backgrounds and then all this incredible detail. I love the one about the butterfly who stamped. Again, he really uses contrast to great effect. His cross-hatching is lovely. The way he frames each illustration and how it is positioned on the page. I’m not much of a literary person. I like the pictures! I love the stories but, for me, it’s always the pictures first. That’s why I like comics and Mœbius so much."
Inspiring Illustrations · fivebooks.com