The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling [more]
Preface: I, of course, usually write this but I could not do better than the "review" below from Patty Inglish, who wrote this for www.about.com --
The Jungle Book is one of the works for which Rudyard Kipling is best remembered. The Jungle Book falls in line with works like Flatland and Alice in Wonderland (which offer satire and political commentary, underneath the genre title of children's literature). Likewise, the stories in The Jungle Book are written to be enjoyed by adults as well as children--with that depth of meaning and symbolism that delves far beyond the surface.
A favorite quote: (actually from Disney adaptation)
Baloo [talking]: let me tell you something, little britches...don't spend your time lookin' around for something you want that can't be found...
Baloo [singing]: When you find out you can live without it / And go along not thinking about it / I'll tell you something true / The bare necessities of life will come to you.
