Philip Pullman

Rudyard Kipling

Just So Stories

Wynter

A decent collection of stories for children, but forgettable. I've read these as a kid, and the only stories that left any impact on me then were The Elephant's Child and The Cat That Walked By Himself, but I think that was because of the cartoon adaptations. This time I thought the one about alphabet was pretty creative. Some people note colonialist and racist undertones in Kipling's writing, but I don't like to look so deeply into nursery rhymes and silly fables. No kid will care if Kipling was racist, but would rather be fascinated with the weird and wondrous explanations to why an elephant has a long nose or a giraffe has its spots.

Just So Stories

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