Just So Stories
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 9+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Kipling's word-music is some of the best read-aloud prose in English, and several tales carry a plain moral: the lazy camel and the rude rhinoceros get what they earned. The reservation is real. The unabridged Leopard story has a racial slur, and djinns, magicians and small gods do the making that belongs to God. Read it aloud and frame it.
For parents
Read aloud from 5, independent reading from 9. Common Sense Media says 6 and up. Check your edition for the slur in the Leopard story or read it aloud and skip the line. Tell your child these are tall tales, like a joke. Ask who really made the elephant (Genesis 1).