Doctor Dolittle and all his animal friends head for the high seas in this amazing adventure. Told by 9-and-a-half-year-old Tommy Stubbins, crewman ...
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May 08, 2011
Miz Lizzie
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My mother read this book to my brother and me when we were children in the 1960s. I remember loving the story and, especially, being enamored of Dr. Dolittle's ability to talk with the animals. It became controversial in the 1970s when the portrayal of the African characters was considered to be offensive and racist. The version I recently re-read is the lightly edited version by the McKissacks to remove the offending descriptions and illustrations. It does not, however, remove the rather of
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Jun 01, 2010
Willie
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Lofting, Hugh. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. New York: Lippincott, 1922.
Genre: Children’s Novel
Doctor Dolittle is a story about a veterinarian who has the ability to talk to animals. He spends his time with his friend Tommy Stubbins and his animals traveling the seas seeking adventures. In this issue he is on a Journey to Spider Monkey Island in pursuit of the Jabizri beetle and in the process of locating the beetle he and his friends have to find the Indian Naturalist Long Arrow More...
Genre: Children’s Novel
Doctor Dolittle is a story about a veterinarian who has the ability to talk to animals. He spends his time with his friend Tommy Stubbins and his animals traveling the seas seeking adventures. In this issue he is on a Journey to Spider Monkey Island in pursuit of the Jabizri beetle and in the process of locating the beetle he and his friends have to find the Indian Naturalist Long Arrow More...
Jun 26, 2010
Kathryn
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This book is the second in the Doctor Dolittle series, the 1923 winner of the Newbery Medal, and the book upon which the well-known Rex Harrison movie is (somewhat) based.
Part of this book's charm is that it is narrated by 10-year-old Tommy Stubbins, and this makes the book perhaps more relatable to children than the first book in the series, which is told in third-person.
I know that many have commented on the racial and ethnic faux pas of the book (an afterward by the auth More...
Part of this book's charm is that it is narrated by 10-year-old Tommy Stubbins, and this makes the book perhaps more relatable to children than the first book in the series, which is told in third-person.
I know that many have commented on the racial and ethnic faux pas of the book (an afterward by the auth More...
Nov 15, 2010
Jill
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I love that this book is written in short chapters. Each installment is its own story. Here and there the book got a little wordy but overall it was well done and I enjoyed it. Doctor Dolittle is a wonderful character. He's one of those people who doesn't have a care in the world. Problems have a way of working themselves out because he keeps a positive attitude and doesn't get flustered. Granted, he does have all the animals of the world on his side to help him through difficult situations, but
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Feb 10, 2011
emily
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Loved this book as a kid, still love it now & want to keep reading the series. If only I had time. Reminds me a LOT of the Twenty-One Balloons!
(Read this for my Newbery class.)
As a sequel, I really appreciated that Lofting took the time to introduce us to his new character, Stubbins, before bringing us back to the Doctor. I read the first book when I was a kid, but honestly, didn't even remember it (or that this book WAS a sequel) until I did some research on the firs More...
(Read this for my Newbery class.)
As a sequel, I really appreciated that Lofting took the time to introduce us to his new character, Stubbins, before bringing us back to the Doctor. I read the first book when I was a kid, but honestly, didn't even remember it (or that this book WAS a sequel) until I did some research on the firs More...
Aug 13, 2011
Shawn
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Proto-Peta, early environmentalist, anti-colonialist - if you've only seen the movies, you're in for a taste of something different (a touch of the radical?) when you read the books. Voyages isn't the best of the Dolittle books (even though it won the Newbery) but it's certainly never dull. 90 years ago, if you were some little farm boy on the Kansas prairie, winter wind blowing outside, then the adventures of a vet who could talk to animals, his voyages fraught with danger and shipwreck, and
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Aug 22, 2009
Christiane
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Fantastical adventures of young Tommy Stubbins, the amazing Doctor Dolittle, and a menagerie of talking animals. In many ways ahead of its time (1922) in terms of animal rights (the Doctor is firmly against lions and tigers in zoos, bullfighting, and scooping up fish to live in an aquarium) the book does have uncomfortable moments when Lofting is writing about human beings rather than animals. Most versions of "The Story of Doctor Dolittle" (which I haven't read yet) and the "Vo
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Mar 07, 2011
Benji
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The 1923 Newbery winner!
What I liked about this book:
As opposed to the 1922 book, this is a book that I think children would actually enjoy. You can tell that it was published in 1922, the language is a little archaic, but a good children's book will appeal to children for many, many years. There are funny parts, there's lots of adventure and there are talking animals! What’s not to love?
What I disliked about this book:
Not much, really. As mentioned before, t More...
What I liked about this book:
As opposed to the 1922 book, this is a book that I think children would actually enjoy. You can tell that it was published in 1922, the language is a little archaic, but a good children's book will appeal to children for many, many years. There are funny parts, there's lots of adventure and there are talking animals! What’s not to love?
What I disliked about this book:
Not much, really. As mentioned before, t More...
Jun 24, 2010
Meredith
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In my continuing quest to reread childrens' classics, I decided to tackle one of my very favorite books from elementary school: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. I always get nervous when I reread or rewatch something wonderful from my childhood. What if it isn't good anymore? Will it destroy my awesome nostalgia?
No worries-Dr. Dolittle is still totally awesome! What is more magical than a man who can talk to animals, or a floating island? There's also an environmental message tha More...
No worries-Dr. Dolittle is still totally awesome! What is more magical than a man who can talk to animals, or a floating island? There's also an environmental message tha More...
May 14, 2009
Kathryn
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The now-controversial "Voyages of Doctor Doolittle" would perhaps not fare well with many modern children, even with updated artwork and the removal of non-PC passages, as it's a bit old-fashioned and over-long. However, I really enjoyed the style and some of Lofting's passages were quite beautifully written. This is a glorious old-fashioned adventure complete with exotic locations, animal allies, shipwrecks, Indian wars and even a giant sea snail! But best of all is our hero, John
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Aug 11, 2009
Emily
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This is the second book Mr. Lofting wrote about Dr. Dolittle, the naturalist from England who has learned many animal languages, and it won the Newbery Medal in 1923. The edition I read had been "gently revised" as the original was written in a time where the prevailing opinions about colonization, native tribes, rights for women, and rights of African-Americans were less enlightened than in our present time. The changes to the text were minimal, but the original illustrations have b
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Apr 02, 2011
Christian
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I very much liked reading "The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle," the sequel to "The Story of Dr. Dolittle." I have not read "The Story of Dr. Dolittle," but I believe that I did not need to. In "The Voyages" (for short), Hugh Lofting wrote so that it was Dr. Dolittle's first appearance in a book.
This book was very well written and I enjoyed reading it, even though it was written in early 1900's and based in the 1800's. Hugh Lofting clearly had a gre More...
This book was very well written and I enjoyed reading it, even though it was written in early 1900's and based in the 1800's. Hugh Lofting clearly had a gre More...
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Feb 25, 2011
Sophia
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Even this bowdlerized version is full of cringey depictions of brown people, but it does have some great stuff arguing against bullfighting (which explains why I thought it was awful from an early age). I still enjoyed the reread since it was a favorite book of mine as a kid, full of interesting characters (Polynesia!) and adventures for the little boy in it, and I definitely had some suspicions this time around about where Doctor Who drew its inspirations from for the character of the Doctor, b
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Jan 05, 2012
In my on-going quest to read all the Newbery winners, I found this one a huge improvement over The Story of Mankind. Here the racism was much more subtle. Still, quite present, quite offensive, and inappropriate in a current children's collection. But at least Dolittle looked upon the noble savages kindly instead of directly insulting them as Van Loon did. This was at least a pleasant, jaunty read. (as long as I kept my social blinders on)
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Apr 15, 2011
Amy
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I can't believe I never read these as a kid! This book was so cute. I'm sure I would have loved it. I was especially amused at how the Spanish called him "Juan Hagapoco". That made me laugh. It got a little tedious there for a while, while they were on the island; and then it seemed to rush to the end. But the middle parts, with the actual adventure, that was definitely worth reading. I also enjoyed the idea of traveling the sea floor in a giant snail with a transparent shell.
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Jul 31, 2011
Debbie
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Yikes! So glad I was reading this aloud. There is a very dated chapter in which black Prince Bumpo begs the Doctor to turn him into a white prince, how he thinks he's so ugly and can only win Sleeping Beauty if he's white, and so on! I was able to edit on my feet, thankfully, but if you want to read this book be sure to get the revised edition in which the prince wants to be turned into a lion. Hugh Lofting's point was actually about being happy with who we are, but it sure doesn't translate! Pi
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Jan 12, 2012
Lisa
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I've decided to challenge myself to read every Newbery Award winning book that I haven't already read, starting with the oldest and working my way to the current ones. This book was the 1923 winner. I thought I knew the story of Dr. Dolittle but I was very wrong! I knew that he could talk to animals but really my only connection to the story was with the Eddie Murphy movie.....so not like the book at all. This book has a great story to tell, is full of adventure, and shows the intelligence of Dr
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Mar 16, 2010
Donald
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I read this in 6th grade because it was a Newberry book and because I thought it would be about talking animals. Boy, was I wrong. This book has very little to do with the Dr. Doolittle movie, except that both characters are, well, doctors. It's got an old time feel to it, maybe because it was written in 1922, but, for some reason, that didn't bother me. I don't know what it was, but my 12 year old mind couldn't put it down. At the time this book outweighed any of my previously read books by at
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Apr 17, 2011
Jen
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I breezed through The Story of Doctor Dolittle a week or so before starting The Voyages and cannot believe they were both written by Hugh Lofting. The story is better, the characters and dialogue are richer, the illustrations more interesting. What happened? The Story does spend a lot more time on his interactions with animals and (ironically) it is this Doctor Dolittle that has survived into popular culture - the man with a house full of animals.
The book itself left much to be de More...
The book itself left much to be de More...
Jan 26, 2012
Qianqian.li
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I think The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle is a fun book to read but it is a childish book, because in the doctor's voyage, everything went too smoothly. its not that there weren't any problems in the book, there were a lot,for example,like running out of food, meaning starvation, warfare between other indian tribes, an entire island of innocent people freezing to death at the arctic ocean, important character dying, the doctor having to give up what he loves and more but they had such an easy
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Feb 24, 2011
Rachel
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I used the 1998 hardcover edition of this book, published in New York by Grosset & Dunlap, which has 276 pages. I am glad to have finally read this book, although I am fairly sure that it is an edited version as I had heard before reading it that some of the character descriptions were fairly racist, as well as some of the illustrations. I found this blog article, which outlines the changes made by Christopher Lofting, the son of the author: http://blog.plover.com/book/Dolittle.htm...
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Apr 30, 2009
Chandra
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This second title in the Dolittle series was, for me, an improvement over the first due in large part to the addition of the character Tommy Stubbins – Doctor Dolittle’s young new apprentice. The first story was fun, but a little random and scattered at times. We now have a character who children can relate to and a tighter narrative flow. I don’t mean to discourage anyone from reading the first book at all, but I will say it’s not necessary to have read it to enjoy this installment.
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Jan 02, 2009
Snorkle
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I was actually surprised at how well this book managed to keep my attention. I was really kind of expecting that I would find it very boring and would have to struggle through it. But that wasn't the case at all. Instead, I found myself reading through it quite fast, wondering what would happen. The only thing I had against this book was that it seemed a little "simple" for a juvenile book, but I think that maybe that is because I am a lot older then its intended audience. I would
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Dec 13, 2011
Lena
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This book was very young for me, but it was enjoyable enough. I thought it was too long for a book with the maturity level it had. I would have liked to get through a book this simple in a day or two, not weeks. Sometimes, it seemed to drag. Parts of it were exciting, and there was always something going on for most of the book. Towards the end, the action slowed down, but I managed to get through it. It was a cute enough book for kids, although I did not like how the black guy was portrayed at
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Jan 21, 2011
Aisha
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When I went to Granada (in Spain) I did not taken any books along on the holiday. Luckily my dad brough his iPod along. So, ahem, ahhhhhem, I spent lots of bus journeys reading Percy Jackson and the sea of monsters. And when I was there my dad downloaded Doctor Doolittle for me too. And then when we came back I read it.
There were very nice characters and the way it was told was good. My favourite animal was the parrot because she was very clever. And I’m going to read some of the other More...
There were very nice characters and the way it was told was good. My favourite animal was the parrot because she was very clever. And I’m going to read some of the other More...
Jun 16, 2011
Read this with my 8 year old. We both enjoyed it. It's a long book (over 300 pages) with lots of distinct sections: meeting the Doctor, a sea voyage, a stop at a port, etc. It's amusing, but not hilarious, adventuresome but not suspenseful.
Good book to share with a child, with drawings by the author (and some editorial excisions to remove historical racist language).
If you remember the movie, this second book in the series has a few of the signature moments and animals of tha
Good book to share with a child, with drawings by the author (and some editorial excisions to remove historical racist language).
If you remember the movie, this second book in the series has a few of the signature moments and animals of tha
Apr 19, 2009
Mary Beth
rated it:
It's great to go back and see where this story originated from. Also interesting to see the style of children's literature from this time period (including some rather interesting political views popular at the time).
The edition I read was true to the original and NOT edited for political correctness. The forward explained that it had been banned from schools in the US because of the racial slurs, so Hugh Lofting's son re-wrote certain sections to make it more socially acceptable.
The edition I read was true to the original and NOT edited for political correctness. The forward explained that it had been banned from schools in the US because of the racial slurs, so Hugh Lofting's son re-wrote certain sections to make it more socially acceptable.
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Jan 18, 2009
Lynne
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Sometime in my mid-20s, upon re-reading this book, I realized that John Dolittle was my main role model in life, and that hasn't changed. Compassionate, obsessive compulsive, an animal lover, a brilliant scientist, a talented linguist, an itinerant traveler, owner of a fireplace that you can sit inside to toast things on sticks, a crusading truth seeker and champion of the underdog (no pun no pun)--shouldn't we all aspire to these things? I've read all the books in the series and I own multipl
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Jul 24, 2009
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
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Tommy Stubbins is thrilled to make the acquaintance of the esteemed Doctor Doolittle. Doolittle has the amazing ability to talk to animals and he loves to travel; these two combine to send him off on many adventures. And Tommy is able to come along, a witness to all the adventures of the doctor. They meet up with the world’s greatest naturalist, Long Arrow, on a floating island. The doctor teaches the people of Spain a new way to fight bulls. And the doctor is made king.
May 30, 2011
Sophie
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I know that a lot of this is due to the time period during which this was written, but I found it irritating how ethnocentric this book was. Doctor Dolittle was portrayed as so very smart and the native people were portrayed as so very stupid. The version I read was modified to remove offensive terms for Africans, so I can't even imagine how much worse the original was. Still, the story was okay I suppose... And again, it was published in 1922, so I guess its ethnocentric themes are not THAT
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