HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Illustrator: Chuck Jones
Publisher: Ideals Children’s Books, republished in 2006
ISBN-13: 978-0824965976
ISBN-10: 0824965973
Language level: 1
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Reading level: Ages 3-8
Rating: 5 stars (EXCELLENT)
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
Disclosure: Any books donated for review purposes are in turn donated to a library. No other compensation has been received for the reviews posted on Home School Book Review.
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Kipling, Rudyard. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (originally published in 1894 as a short story in The Jungle Books; republished in 1985 by Ideals Children’s Books). Perhaps the best-known story by Rudyard Kipling is that of the little mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, one of The Jungle Books stories. It has certainly been one of our favorites. Animator Chuck Jones did an excellent cartoon version that aired on CBS in 1975. We had it on VHS, and now we have it on DVD. It was also made into a book with a cassette tape so that children could listen to the story and follow along in the text. We also either had that or checked it out of the library. A young mongoose is rescued by a British family living at the Sugauli cantonment in Bihar State, India, and their kindness is quickly rewarded when Rikki-Tikki-Tavi saves them from the deadly cobra Nag and his mate Nagaina. There are some mildly scary parts where Rikki kills another snake, Karait, and one of the evil cobras is shot by the father of the house. Orson Wells makes a great narrator for the film and the tape in this brilliant classic along with the unique artistry of Chuck Jones.
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