Rudyard Kipling told his children gloriously fanciful tales of how things in the world came to be as they are. He wrote them down for publication as Just So Stories in 1902, just three years after the tragic death of his daughter Josephine for whom they had first been created. 

During the twentieth century, generations of children were tucked into bed with readings of highly imaginative and wildly improbable explanations such as how the elephant got his trunk, how the leopard got his spots, and how the alphabet was made. Kipling's children's books were popular for much of the 20th century and Just So Stories remains a children's favourite across the English-speaking world.

Kipling provided his own woodcut illustrations for his Just So Stories, which feature in this edition. Together with his long, hilarious captions, they are the perfect accompaniment to his classic children's stories, and in true Kipling style, contain hidden jokes and puzzles.