Rudyard Kipling's delightful story telling how the elephant got his trunk is given a stunning new interpretation by a top artist. Geoffrey Patterson has abridged the original text for a younger audience without losing any of Kipling's much-loved turns of phrase. Elegant and whimsical illustrations give a fresh, vibrant look to a classic story.

About the Author

Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay in 1865. In 1871 he was brought home from India and spent five unhappy years with a foster family in Southsea. It was during his time at college that he began writing poetry, and Schoolboy Lyrics was published privately in 1881. In 1892 he married an American, Caroline Balestier, and from 1892 to 1896 they lived in Vermont, where Kipling wrote The Jungle Book, published in 1894. In 1901 came Kim and in 1902 the Just So Stories. Kipling refused to accept the role of Poet Laureate and other civil honours, but he was the first English writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize, in 1907. He died in 1936. Geoffrey Patterson began his career in interior design and worked as a set designer with the BBC for 13 years. He was a lecturer in illustration at Suffolk College and has published many books for children. In 1986 he won the Smarties prize for The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg. He lives in Norfolk.

Reviews

Gr 2-5-- Kipling's ``Just-So'' story explains the origin of the elephant's long and useful trunk, but its perennial appeal lies in the childlike behavior of the small elephant whose ``satiable curtiosity'' is a trial to all his relations. Their response is not to answer but to spank him--and one advantage of the new trunk is that it allows him to spank them all in return: not politically correct behavior, but satisfying revenge. Mogensen's copious watercolor illustrations are dominated by the buff tones suited to the African setting. They may look pale next to the hot and flashy colors in vogue today, but are actually varied and subtle. On a few pages the artist depicts the hero twice in the same picture, the smaller background image showing another incident at a different time (some children may need an explanation). Slightly simplified shapes allow for easy reading of the images, without apparent sacrifice of surrounding detail. The clean composition and profusion of pictures make this edition accessible to a younger audience than Kipling's sophisticated prose might otherwise reach. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle

With vibrant illustrations, the text has been abridged for a younger audience. Headteacher

Curiosity stops just short of being deadly in this adaptation of the Kipling classic. ``In the High and Far-Off Times'' when elephants sported short, ``bulgy'' noses, a young pachyderm full of ``satiable curiosity'' sets off to discover what crocodiles eat for dinner. After a rousing tug-of-war with the Crocodile himself, the Elephant's Child walks away with a new and improved (and quite sore) elongated trunk. Bolam's well-paced version of the tale is sure to perk up the ears of inquisitive listeners. Unfortunately, the text's understated action and gentle humor are overshadowed by random violence--the other animals spank the Elephant's Child whenever he asks a question, and the Elephant Child's new trunk is eventually used to spank them back. Bolam's bright, primitive paintings boldly contrast with airy white backgrounds, and the jungle animals' childlike facial expressions are particularly engaging. Ultimately, though, Kipling's writings remain too sophisticated for the picture book set. Ages 5-up. (Jan.)