Editions

Just So Stories

Just So Stories

  • Samuel West reads a selection of Just So Stories

Samuel West reads ten of Rudyard Kipling’s famous tales, as broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

How the Whale Got His Throat
How the Leopard Got His Spots
The Beginning of the Armadillos
How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin
The Cat That Walked By Himself
How the Camel Got His Hump
The Crab That Played With The Sea
The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
The Butterfly That Stamped
The Elephant’s Child

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as part of Just So Science, these charming tales are sure to delight listeners of all ages.

Reviews

  • Sam West's readings were superb ...He brought to mind Martin Jarvis doing Just William – and praise doesn't come any higher than that.

    Chris Mauma, The Independent

More from this Author

View all View all
View all View all

About the Author

Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay in India in 1865 to British parents, and brought up by a Portuguese ‘ayah’ (nanny) and an Indian servant, who would entertain him with fabulous stories and Indian nursery rhymes. He was sent back to England when he was seven years old, and lived in a boarding house with a couple who were cruelly strict. Fortunately he returned to India aged sixteen, to work as the assistant editor of a newspaper in Lahore. He began publishing stories and poems and eventually had great success with his book Plain Tales from the Hills. After his marriage Kipling settled in America, and it was here that he wrote The Jungle Book. He then moved with his family to England, where he wrote Just So Stories for his daughter Josephine who later tragically died of pneumonia. Rudyard Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907 and died on 18 January 1936.

Rudyard Kipling

Read more

/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2020/july/Literary-map-UK-main-image.jpg

Features

A literary tour of the United Kingdom

From Bram Stoker's Whitby to the sprawling country pile that inspired Virginia Woolf's Orlando, this is the definitive staycation travel guide for book lovers.
/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2019/may/Vintage-reading-list-kipling-apc.jpg

Recommendations

3 of the best Rudyard Kipling books

Rudyard Kipling was a literary hero in his lifetime, and still one of the most celebrated children’s authors of all time. Here are three of his best books.
/content/dam/prh/articles/archive/the-jungle-book-by-runyard-kipling-960x450 jungle book.jpg

Extracts

Christopher Paolini introduces The Jungle Book

To celebrate Disney's spectacular revival of Baloo, Bagheera and Mowgli's adventures, here's Christopher Paolini on what we can learn from The Jungle Book. Read the edited foreward below, plus an extract from Kipling's timeless tale

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience. For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.