The Jungle Book vs The Second Jungle Book: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Mowgli, Jungle animals, Jungles, Animals, Short Stories, Biography & Memoir
The Jungle Book
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The adventures of Mowgli, a man-child raised by wolves in the jungle, have captured the imaginations not just of children, but of all readers, for generations.
The Second Jungle Book
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Not so much a sequel as a small collection of short stories, only five of which feature Mowgli and friends. The best known of the stories is 'How Fear Came', which tells the story of how the tiger got his stripes.
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Second Jungle Book is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 4 for The Jungle Book.
- The Jungle Book has the widest readership — 135456 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Jungle Book | The Second Jungle Book | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (135456) | 3.8 (4465) |
| Hardcover | 3.7 (210) | 3.2 (17) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (289) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (2154) | 4.5 (14) |
Reception
| The Jungle Book | The Second Jungle Book | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 135456 | 4465 |
| Editions | 536 | 611 |
| Citations | — | 1 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 73719 | 3661 |
| Reading it now | 8540 | 408 |
| Written reviews | 5735 | 270 |
| Wikipedia attention | 26554 | 2907 |
| Pages | 227 | 115 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Jungle Book or The Second Jungle Book?
The Jungle Book has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Jungle Book 3.9/5, The Second Jungle Book 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Jungle Book or The Second Jungle Book?
The Second Jungle Book is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Second Jungle Book (115 pages, ≈ 2 h 08 m); The Jungle Book (227 pages, ≈ 4 h 12 m).
Which is harder to read: The Jungle Book or The Second Jungle Book?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Jungle Book: Challenging; The Second Jungle Book: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
The Jungle Book: 5 film adaptations; The Second Jungle Book: 2 film adaptations.