Just So Stories - Hardcover

Rudyard Kipling

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060232943 ISBN 13: 9780060232948

Publisher: The Folio Society, 1991

Synopsis

A collection of the well-known stories, including "How the Whale Got His Throat," "The Elephant's Child," and "The Butterfly that Stamped."

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Reviews

Grade 1-5-- Those who didn't acquire the Just So Stories (Holt, 1987) illustrated by Safaya Salter have a tough decision now that Frampton has provided equally attractive pictures for this one. His edition has a more sophisticatedly primitive sense of design and color. The text is set in larger type, and there are many vignettes enlivening the pages. Employing a traditional woodcut technique, the illustrator makes effective use of high contrast between black and white, variable thickness of line, and the warm, rich colors suited to Kipling's exotic settings. Salter's pictures are quieter and more conventional (although her animals have human eyes), and her complex, textilelike designs in pale and elegant colors are easy to like. For those who can't decide between the two, Kipling's own eccentrically stylish black-and-white drawings are still in print (Schocken, 1987). --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An unusually handsome presentation of these classic stories, with sophisticated woodcuts that will commend it especially (but not exclusively) to older children. Frampton provides one full- page color illustration for each story, with a broad border of a reiterated motif from the story framing a closely structured composition--boldly stylized yet reflecting the story's lively action and wit; additional vignettes enliven the generously spaced text. An excellent edition for home or library. (Fiction. 4+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The graceful prose and pungent humor of these 12 tall tales (which include such favorites as "How the Camel Got His Hump" and "The Elephant's Child") place them in the same league with such children's classics as Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland. Kipling's verbal dexterity remains audible over time--even the openings of his fantastic fictions hark to a golden age of storytelling. Frampton's elegant, elaborately detailed woodcuts are attractive embellishments to this hefty 122-page collection. Stylistically, however, they are perhaps more suited to the tastes of adults than children, as they are neither as colorful nor as playful as the stories. They do not reach out and hook the audience in the distinctive, visually arresting manner needed to keep pace with this eminent author's topsy-turvy logic. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Folio Society
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060232943
• ISBN 13: 9780060232948
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 189