The stories of The Jungle Book have a lyrical quality characterized by concise descriptive passages and a simple, elegant storytelling style. In the story "Mowgli's Brothers," the description of the black panther dropping into a circle of wolves demonstrates Kipling's lyrical style: A black shadow dropped down into the circle. It was Bagheera the Black Panther, inky black all over, but with the panther markings showing up in certain lights like the pattern of watered silk. Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody cared to cross his path; for he was as cunning as Tabaqui [the jackal], as bold as the wild buffalo, and as reckless as the wounded elephant. But he had a voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree, and a skin softer than down.

Kipling's flair for storytelling has delighted adults, as well as the younger readers for whom The Jungle Book...