"Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." - Henry James
Kipling, Rudyard. A favorite between the ages of 10 and 15, and thereafter. Read complete works between 14 and 15. Nobody takes his utilitarian moralism seriously. A genius.
The Jungle Book. Incomparable prose artistry. The supreme masterpiece of 19th-century literature. - Nabokov
The actual quotation, as far as I can find - Kipling, Rudyard. A favorite between the ages of 8 and 14. Essentially a writer for very young people. Romantic in the large sense.
Read Plain Tales. You'll understand.
I'm trying to explore more poetry so I'm going to check out one of his collections from my library