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Shiv and the Grasshopper

A poem from The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling

This reader retells a poem from The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling, sung by a mother to her child. The poem draws on Hindu tradition, celebrating Shiv (Shiva) the Preserver, who cares for all living things. Parbati (Parvati) is his wife. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story is worth a child's time because it teaches that even the smallest and most forgotten creatures matter, and that true care sees everything, no matter how humble.

Band
Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11
Length
long · about 853 words in 5 sections · 3 pictures
Source
The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling
First published
1894
Regions
Canada · United States

Included formats

  • · Web reader and PDF
  • · EPUB for e-readers
  • · Home-print sheet
  • · Folded booklet
  • · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
  • · Worksheet
  • · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
  • · Read-aloud script
  • · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Lesson at a glance

Reading
about 10 minutes at this band
Pause questions
2
Words to Know
9
Quick Check
10 questions, with the answer key
Let’s Talk
2 questions for afterwards
Worksheet
questions, an activity and a drawing prompt

About 40 minutes with one story, all of it.

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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The same story

Shiv and the Grasshopper at other bands