Like the struggles of man and beast in the Klondike tales of Jack London, the threat of death hangs over the jungle. The violence or action if you prefer that term in these stories is inherently part of what happens. The Jungle Book has been made into a number of film and TV versions, and a sequel to the book, The Second Jungle Book, contains more stories about Mowgli and other jungle creatures. Mowgli’s jungle is filled with an authentic power that Tarzan lacks. In general, animals talk about killing others for food. Creatures hunt and kill each other in suspenseful scenes, but almost all violent acts happen "offscreen." In one scene, Mowgli uses his wits to trick an adversary into being killed by a stampeding herd of cattle the animal's death is not shown, but Mowgli is later described skinning the animal. These wonderful stories, which alternate with lyrical poems about the characters, depict a complex and sometimes dangerous natural world in which creatures must respect the "ways of the jungle" in order to coexist. Mowgli focuses on putting the humanity in the animals sometimes to uncanny degrees by emphasizing their emotion in expressive facial structures, sidelining realism to allow its talking. However, in part because of the charming movie, Mowgli's stories are probably the best loved and best known pieces in the collection. Parents need to know that Rudyard Kipling's book of short stories The Jungle Book is far less whimsical (and musical) than Disney's classic animated film, and it includes stories with different central characters besides Mowgli, the "mancub" raised by wolves and befriended by Baloo the bear.
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