Top 10 books about the British in India
From Rudyard Kipling to William Dalrymple, these titles document the folly, cruelty and heroism of the RajFor the past five years I have been bewitched by the story of the British in India. It started...
View ArticleThe best picture books on crocodiles
From Roald Dahl’s enormous crocodile to Gemma Merino’s aquaphobic one , the Book Doctor snaps at her quest for crocodile books to thrill a pre-schoolerMy four year old both loves and fears Roald Dahl’s...
View ArticleTim Radford on how Kipling marked the burial of King Edward VII
On 20 May, 1910, Edward VII is buried at Windsor and in Sussex, a best-selling author and poet writes to his son, at school. “Dear old man, This has been one of the most wonderful days that ever I...
View ArticleWhat are the best children's books about India?
Drawing on its mythology and from its abundant wildlife there are a great many wonderful stories about India. From Gita Wolf to Madhur Jaffrey, the Book Doctor heads off in search of sunshine and...
View ArticleThe Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - review
'I felt myself hearing the strange noises, feeling the ground slither with snakes and sweating in the heat of the penetrating environment of the jungle's overpowering force'There is probably not a...
View ArticleTop 10 books about spies
The literature of espionage, like its subjects, is often not to be trusted. These are some of the accounts you can believeBetrayal, seduction and subterfuge: these devilish arts are central to the...
View ArticleBear necessities: short but sweet first trailer for Disney's Jungle Book...
Tiny ‘mancub’ Mowgli fights for survival against a lush subcontinental backdrop teeming with photo-real CGI beasts in Jon Favreau’s fantasyThe first trailer for Disney’s live action remake of 1967...
View ArticleThe long tale of the British short story
What makes the British short story special? In a trawl through thousands, Philip Hensher found a generous tradition that not only suits established writers but gives a platform to voices on the edge of...
View ArticleGuardian readers' comfort library
Jane Austen rubs shoulders with Ernest Hemingway, Samuel Beckett sits next to Harry Potter in the great self-help archive assembled by our contributorsA breakfast-room adjoined the drawing-room, I...
View ArticleTop 10 unlikely friendships in children’s books
From Pooh and Piglet, Charlotte and Wilbur to Sophie and the BFG, children’s books are full of unlikely but wonderful friendships. John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, whose new book,...
View ArticleRudyard Kipling: an unexpected revival for the ‘bard of empire’
‘Vulgar rabble-rouser’, ‘rootless cosmopolitan’, ‘mouthpiece of the empire’ … Kipling has had his share of detractors. But, 150 years after his birth, interest in India’s greatest English-language...
View ArticleWhat's happening in children's books in 2016? A literary calendar
Want to know when your favourite author has a new book published? When the awards are being dished out? What film adaptations are up-coming or get the low-down on festivals near you? Then check out our...
View ArticleWhy we still don't know what to make of Kipling
Is he hopelessly outdated, a standard-bearer for a discredited part of British history, or a writer with a profound understanding for all humanity? More from the Guardian Reading groupThe end of...
View ArticleReading beyond Rudyard Kipling's imperial crimes: the complexities of Kim
Hard questions about race and colonialism are hurdles Kipling first-timers must initially confront, but Kim remains a glorious novel filled with adoration for Victorian IndiaMore from the Guardian...
View ArticleRudyard Kipling's Kim: a zam-zammer wonder-house of wordplay
Often regarded as an early YA novel, Kim appears to be a simple coming-of age story, until you begin to notice the unobtrusive brilliance of the craftsmanshipMore from the Guardian reading groupMany of...
View ArticleRudyard Kipling and Kim: webchat with Andrew Lycett – post your questions now
The author’s acclaimed biographer will be here on Friday 29 January at 1pm GMT to answer your questions about his life, his books and his legacy4.23pm GMTAndrew Lycett is “a biographer of distinction”,...
View ArticleRacism warning on remake of Jungle Book film
Disney’s new live-action version of the 1967 film will have to take great care not to cause offence, critics sayDisney is bringing back The Jungle Book in a live-action remake, but worries over racial...
View ArticleRe-illustrating The Jungle Book: Baloo by Chris Riddell
With Rudyard Kipling’s children’s classic The Jungle Book back in everyone’s minds, we approached our favourite illustrators to recreate their favourite scene or character from the book. Here is Chris...
View ArticleRe-illustrating the Jungle Book: Mowgli and Bagheera by Jill Calder
Each day, artists illustrate a scene from Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book. Here Jill Calder has created the scene where Mowgli and Bagheera discuss fire (the ‘red flower’), brought to life...
View ArticleThe Jungle Book review – spectacular revival of Disney's family favourite
Hyperreal digital animation meets old-fashioned storytelling in this faithful remake, which loses the songs but brings new, ingenious twists on the originalWhat on earth is the point of remaking Walt...
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