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Synopsis
How did the leopard get his spots? How did the camel get his hump? How did an inquisitive little elephant change the lives of elephants everywhere? Kipling's imagined answers to such questions draw on the beast fables he heard as a child in India, as well as on fold traditions he later collected all over the world.
Children's Literature
I spent an enjoyable evening rereading Kipling's marvelous creation stories. His hungry whale and imperious butterfly came to life again, while "How the First Letter Was Written" and "How the Alphabet Was Made" reiterated the joys of discovery. Barry Moser's illustrations are very fine, with just the right touch of humor and slyness-particularly his disdainfully "humphing" camel. The only thing missing was an eager audience. These stories cry out to be read aloud, as Kipling himself once did for his own children.