The Jungle Book is seven mostly unrelated short stories-some not even in the jungle-and seven short works of verse related to the story. The first set of three stories stars a young boy named Mowgli. He is raised by wolves, trained by a bear, kidnapped by monkeys, rescued by a panther and a snake, and kills and skins a tiger. All this before he hits puberty. In "The White Seal," Kotick, the titular white seal, who lives in the Bering Sea (which is not the jungle), sees his adorable, cute, cuddly, fuzzy seal buddies get clubbed to death and their bloody skins ripped from their little bodies. Yikes. He decides to search for an island where all seals can be safe, but when he finds it, all the seals are too lazy to move. Talk about ungrateful, right? Kotick, who's all big and strong from all the swimming, kicks all the seals' tails. Impressed by his strength, they follow him to safety. Our protagonist in "Toomai of the Elephants" is Toomai (of the elephants). He follows his elephant Kala Nag into the jungle and witnesses a top-secret elephant dance ritual. Finally, there's "Our Majesty's Servants," in which a bunch of military service animals-donkeys, camels, and horses, oh my-chat about fear and obedience. We didn't forget "Rikki-tikki-tavi" either. The most iconic star of The Jungle Book next to Mowgli the boy wonder gets his Shmoop on Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, then in British India, December 30, 1865 and died in London on 18 January 1936, is a British writer. His children's books have been free newsletter a success that has never wavered, including The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), Just So Stories (1902), Puck, sprite hill (1906). He is also the author of the novel Kim (1901), poems (Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), and you'll be a Man, my son (1910) are among the most famous) and new, including L 'Man who would be King (1888) and the collection Plain tales from the hills (1888). It was considered an "innovator in the art of the new", a precursor of science fiction and one of the greatest writers of children's literature. His work demonstrates a talent for storytelling that is expressed in various forms. From the late nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century, Kipling has remained one of the most popular writers of the English language. The writer Henry James wrote about it: "Kipling touches me personally as the most complete man of genius I have ever known. " In 1907, he was the first English-language author to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the youngest to have received (in 42 years). Subsequently, he refused a knighthood. However, Kipling was often considered a "prophet of British imperialism" in the words of George Orwell. The controversy about prejudice and militarism that would be present in his work went through the entire twentieth century. According to the literary critic Douglas Kerr: "It remains an author who inspires passionate rejection reactions, and his place in literary and cultural history is far from being firmly established. However, at a time when the European empires were down, it is recognized as an incomparable interpreter, if controversial, of how the empire was experienced. This, combined with his extraordinary narrative genius, gives it a strength that can only recognize.