SELECTED JUST SO STORIES

Kipling’s classic recounts how the elephant got his nose and the rhino his baggy skin; a third story illuminates the nature of cats, who walk alone. Narrator Stephen McLaughlin maintains a steady, deliberate pace that showcases Kipling's poetic prose, with its alliteration, repetition, and inventive word choice. McLaughlin seems to enjoy creating voices for Kipling's animal characters, including those in special situations. (For example, there's the little elephant child speaking through his nose, which is gripped by crocodile's teeth, and the naughty crocodile, speaking through those clenched teeth.) McLaughlin's indifferent yawn of a cat voice is especially funny and fitting for this independent-minded creature. These three stories are interspersed with two short poems, making a collection that reinforces the idea of Kipling's work as prose poetry. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]