Search - Disney's the Jungle Book

ISBN 0307003264 - I have had my illusions shattered by this edition of this book! Believing that Disney books are, essentially, flawless, I'm sad to report that this one doesn't quite reach the high standards of most others.

Mowgli, left in the jungle as an infant, is taken, by Bagheera the panther, to a wolf family's den to be raised. The animals are his friends and he learns from them until, suddenly, Shere Khan returns to the jungle. Like all tigers, Shere Khan hates man - and Mowgli, now ten, is a "man". His friends work to convince him to leave the jungle, but Mowgli doesn't want to go, facing various dangers to stay in the place he knows as his home. Until, that is, he sees a young human girl singing at the water and follows her home to her village.

Young fans of the Disney film might enjoy this book, but if this is your first introduction to the story, it's a good one but not a great one. The story, compacted to fit Golden Books' standard 24 pages, feels like it's missing far too much in an attempt to hit just the highlights. From the moment he is "sent away", Mowgli is kidnapped by and rescued from monkeys, and assaulted by and scares off Shere Khan - all of which seems to take place in an amazingly short time span.

The illustrations, however, are definitely stellar Disney. Bright and colorful, they depict the action in the story perfectly, from the jungle itself to the facial expressions of everyone in it. As a way to bring Kipling's classic series (The Jungle Books) into your child's life, this is a nice route to take, just lacks in detail.

- AnnaLovesBooks