Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was an English author and poet, born in India, and best known today for his children’s books, including The Jungle Book , Just So Stories , and Puck of Pook’s Hill ; his novel, Kim ; his poems, including “Mandalay”, “Gunga Din”, and “If—”; and his many short stories, including “The Man Who Would Be King” and the collections Life’s Handicap , The Day’s Work , and Plain Tales from the Hills . He is regarded as a major “innovator in the art of the short story”; his children’s books are enduring classics of children’s literature; and his best work speaks to a versatile and luminous narrative gift. Dan and Una met Puck last summer, in Puck of Pook’s Hill . This summer, they meet him again - and several individuals from different periods in history, who, while generally not famous themselves, tell their tales of meeting Queen Elizabeth, Francis Drake, George Washington, a
