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Sat 21 Jun, 2008 02:52 am
It's a large hardcover with a gorgeous rousseau-like painting of an armadillo in a jungle. It may have been called "the beginning of the armadilloes."
It included a story with that same name by rudyard kipling and the folk tale "the firebird and princess vasilisa," plus a dozen other stories. It's approx 12x10x3/4 inches.
PLEASE help me find it, i tried amazon, but it wasnt too helpful.
It seems to be one of the "Just So Stories," so maybe look for that instead? Collections usually have a cover illustrating one of the stories in the book, so I wouldn't be surprised if there would be an armadillo illustration even though the actual title is "Just So Stories." (By Rudyard Kipling.)
(If you search with the spelling "armadillos" rather than "armadilloes" you'll probably have more luck...)
Searched a bit more, "The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa" is a Russian fairytale (not by Kipling). So it sounds like it's some anthology of (maybe animal-themed?) stories for children.
Was the whole thing illustrated?
No-idea, but for the intended purpose Kipling might be a sub-optimal choice. I've been channeling Pullman to the little Hanno-cadets, Conrad has a certain boy-scout thing going, not near as much as Algernon Blackwood. Consider also in the India-colonial setting, non-fiction no-less, Jim Corbett - his account of hunting the Maneater of Rudraprayag is tasteful, sensitive and coherent with modern moral sensibilities despite being an action-packed symphony of terror.
@rachelvancouver,
I know this post is very old, and you may have already found it, but my sister and I were searching for this book for days, and your post helped us finally find it! All I could remember were the gorgeous illustrations.
Is it "The Children's Treasury of Animal Stories" by Anne Roberts, with illustrations by Jan Machelek?
http://www.amazon.com/childrens-treasury-animal-stories/dp/B0011PRJ8O/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Even if you've found this already, I hope it helps others who are looking!
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