A collection of stories, drawn from the tales Kipling's Indian nurses told to him, in which Kipling creates the enchantment of the dawn of the world, when animals could talk and think like people. The laziness of the Camel, the curiosity of the Elephant Child, the cleverness of the hedgehog, the confusions of the Painted Jaguar and all the rest of Kipling's delightful menagerie come alive.

One surprising day in her kitchen, Abby Carnelia, an otherwise ordinary fifth-grader, discovers that she has a magic power. Unfortunately, her power is completely useless. In her quest to figure out what this power means, Abby finds herself at a special Magic Camp where she meets children who have similarly useless magical powers. But it quickly becomes apparent that something strange is going on at the camp. Now, Abby and her new friends have to...