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94th out of 115 books
—
4 voters
The Story of Doctor Dolittle (Doctor Dolittle #1)
by
Hugh Lofting
In this first book in the series, Doctor Dolittle discovers that he can talk to the animals--Jip the dog, Dab Dab the duck, Polynesia the parrot.
Paperback, 156 pages
Published
December 15th 1968
by Yearling
(first published 1920)
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This is really a very unique and delightful little story about a very kind and gentle man who can speak to and understand animals. What's even more charming is that Hugh Lofting wrote these stories as letters home to entertain his family while away fighting in WW I. This book has that strange fantastical rambling quality that only children's stories from a bygone era have. It's the kind of story where the larger plot takes a backseat to characterization and dialogue. As a result the storyline ju...more
May 19, 2011
The Library Lady
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Adults looking for a great readaloud for kids
Shelves:
books-every-child-should-know,
old-favorites
If the only version of "Dr Dolittle" you know is Eddie Murphy's you don't know Dr Dolittle. Even if you've see the Rex Harrison musical, if you haven't read the book, you don't know Dr Dolittle.
Small, tubby and shy, Dr Dolittle is a brilliant doctor whose love of animals loses him his human patients. But after his parrot Polynesia teaches him to speak animal languages,the Doctor becomes famous in the animal world, and travels across the world and even to the moon!
In this first book, the Doctor a...more
Small, tubby and shy, Dr Dolittle is a brilliant doctor whose love of animals loses him his human patients. But after his parrot Polynesia teaches him to speak animal languages,the Doctor becomes famous in the animal world, and travels across the world and even to the moon!
In this first book, the Doctor a...more
This is a classic read-aloud book that I discovered just recently along with my children. We listened to it in the car over the course of a week or so. The only disadvantage to this strategy was that I was shocked to hear several highly racial epithets used, which, had I been reading it, I would have edited out (and I mean HIGHLY racial! Yikes!). I have since discovered that there are, in fact, numerous edited versions of varying degrees of Dr. Dolittle. Despite these glitches, we really enjoyed...more
1 like · like · see review
Sep 13, 2012
Melissa (ladybug)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Children and the Young at Heart
Shelves:
children,
classics,
fiction,
audio-books,
kindle,
young-adult,
future-progenys-bookshelf,
fantasy
Nice story about a Dr. that can talk to animals. I always thought that if I just could listen very carefully, my dogs and cats would talk to me. Sadly it never happened, but it still could one day. :D
Beautifully illustrated and revised: I presume anyone reading the reviews already is familiar with the storyline of Dr. Dolittle. I highly recommend this version with only a slight reservation (see below) because its illustration and editing would make an excellent introduction to children as well as a gift possibility and a lifelong keepsake.
I heartily disagree with the reviewer who discredits this edition because it has been updated to modern civilities. The reviewer mistakenly suggests that...more
I heartily disagree with the reviewer who discredits this edition because it has been updated to modern civilities. The reviewer mistakenly suggests that...more
I have set out to try to read all the Newbery medal winning books. I decided to start at the first, which was The Story of Mankind, and work up. Seeing Dr. Dolittle second on the list did not thrill me, and I did not even read the list carefully enough to see the full title...I only saw Dr. Dolittle. Since I really love animals, people have often told me I would like Dr. Dolittle. I was not a good reader as a child and the thought of reading about someone who talked to animals did not thrill me....more
May 05, 2013
Kristina Wojtaszek
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s-books,
historical-fiction
I read this to my little boys, who loved it! The chapters are just long enough to read one a night for a bedtime story, and there are beautiful illustrations on about every other page. If you read the foreword, you'll find that they made one slight change to the original story to cut back on racism (I thought it was a fun change, having the "black prince" wish to become a lion instead of wishing to be white), but for the sensitive parent, there are still a few things to be aware of, such as the...more
I had recently watched the 1960s movie version of Dr. Dolittle, starring Rex Harrison, and I was struck with the desire to re-read the original 1920 children's book.
It... didn't hold up well. Some childrens stories can be re-read as adults; their language, while simple, still tells an engaging story that retains appeal. This one didn't. It also has the additional difficulty of some period-appropriate racism, which by itself I might have been able to overlook, but in combination just made me skip...more
It... didn't hold up well. Some childrens stories can be re-read as adults; their language, while simple, still tells an engaging story that retains appeal. This one didn't. It also has the additional difficulty of some period-appropriate racism, which by itself I might have been able to overlook, but in combination just made me skip...more
"The Story of Doctor Dolittle" is a great story. Before reading this book I was only familiar with the movie that had Eddie Murphy as the Dr. I really enjoyed this version. This is the story about a doctor who has an extreme love for animals. It all starts when his parrot teaches him the languages of the animals. He instantly becomes a world-famous doctor who is able to treat and talk to all animals. When I was little, all I wanted was to be able to talk to animals and know what they were thinki...more
I finished reading "Dr. Dolittle" in English. I have known the story since I was a kid. I've read it with a Japanese translation. However, I haven't read it in English. I bought the book at a garage sale in America.
Twenty 5 years ago, when I was a college student, I've been to London with my college friend. I bought one of the Dr. Dolittle series at a book store. I found it at the discount corner. I still remember that at that time we couldn't seen discount corner at a book store in Japan. So, I...more
Twenty 5 years ago, when I was a college student, I've been to London with my college friend. I bought one of the Dr. Dolittle series at a book store. I found it at the discount corner. I still remember that at that time we couldn't seen discount corner at a book store in Japan. So, I...more
I picked this book up on audio for us to listen to as we drove about visiting people during the holidays. I have a vague memory of enjoying the 1967 film adapation staring Rex Harrison as Dr. Dolittle.
My initial impulse was to give the book one star. Unlike some other editions, this one was NOT altered from the original. The book definitely conveyed some attitudes about skin color that I would have not have knowingly chosen for my son to hear. And while it didn't use the "N word" it did use ter...more
My initial impulse was to give the book one star. Unlike some other editions, this one was NOT altered from the original. The book definitely conveyed some attitudes about skin color that I would have not have knowingly chosen for my son to hear. And while it didn't use the "N word" it did use ter...more
WARNING: THERE ARE TWO VERSIONS OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE
I accidentally read the first, original version. I was reading it to my son, and it would talk about "White man" "Black man" and I thought, "That's okay." But then around the tenth chapter, the black prince wants to become white because when he kissed a princess to wake her up, she was disappointed he was black and left him.
So I stopped reading to my son right there.
Then I read on by myself. In the next chapter, Dr. Dolittle helps the black princ...more
I accidentally read the first, original version. I was reading it to my son, and it would talk about "White man" "Black man" and I thought, "That's okay." But then around the tenth chapter, the black prince wants to become white because when he kissed a princess to wake her up, she was disappointed he was black and left him.
So I stopped reading to my son right there.
Then I read on by myself. In the next chapter, Dr. Dolittle helps the black princ...more
Mar 20, 2009
Sam Grace
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
middlegrade-ya,
fiction
Okay, what I just heard last night (which, I suspect, is just the beginning of the bad) plus a number of the reviews I just read below make me VERY unhappy. For example, Janet's review below says, "all of the Doctor Doolittle books have a racist quality, but it is never malicious, and reflects an attitude typical of England when the books were written." Also the people who say they are making it all better by simply skipping over the "highly racial epithets" (Christina, the word you are looking...more
Scholastic Junior Classics, Retold from Hugh Lofting by Ellen Miles
This is a charming story about a doctor who loves animals so much that they crowd people out of his life, and he turns into a veterinarian! The animals live with him, he learns to speak their language, the animals clean for him, he treats their ailments. But word travels quickly in the animal kingdom, and there are many animals who need his help, in this case, a group of monkeys, so Dr. Dolittle and a subset of his menagerie set...more
This is a charming story about a doctor who loves animals so much that they crowd people out of his life, and he turns into a veterinarian! The animals live with him, he learns to speak their language, the animals clean for him, he treats their ailments. But word travels quickly in the animal kingdom, and there are many animals who need his help, in this case, a group of monkeys, so Dr. Dolittle and a subset of his menagerie set...more
"'Money is a nuisance,'" he used to say. 'We'd all be much better off if it had never been invented. What does money matter, so long as we are happy?'"
—John Dolittle, "The Story of Doctor Dolittle", P. 24
"Boys aren't like ducklings—they have to be taken care of till they're quite old."
—Dab-Dab, "The Story of Doctor Dolittle, P. 152
I was really nicely surprised by just how good is "The Story of Doctor Dolittle". Hugh Lofting has a straightforward, innocently perceptive style of writing that...more
—John Dolittle, "The Story of Doctor Dolittle", P. 24
"Boys aren't like ducklings—they have to be taken care of till they're quite old."
—Dab-Dab, "The Story of Doctor Dolittle, P. 152
I was really nicely surprised by just how good is "The Story of Doctor Dolittle". Hugh Lofting has a straightforward, innocently perceptive style of writing that...more
This is a charming, imaginative children's story. What child doesn't love animals and wish they could talk? Here is the story of a man who can speak just about any animal language on the planet, and it leads to plenty of great adventures.
There are lessons for children to learn even while their imaginations are in high-gear. Lessons of kindness, patience, humility, patience, and caring, just to name a few. However, please realize that this story was published in a MUCH different time, and there i...more
There are lessons for children to learn even while their imaginations are in high-gear. Lessons of kindness, patience, humility, patience, and caring, just to name a few. However, please realize that this story was published in a MUCH different time, and there i...more
May 04, 2011
Isabel
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
chapter-book-with-kids,
read-to-elf
I happened to start reading this one with my daughter around the time that she went on a field trip to the zoo. On the one hand, this made the book even more fun because we both were able to really visualize the size and manerisms of the animals. On the other hand, however, it really brings into focus the anthropomorphism of the book which is kind of unfortunate. As a child, I remember loving the idea of actually being able to communicate with the animals Dolittle-style, but as an adult, I find...more
I read this when I was young and really liked it, but I don't know which version I read. I know it had Hugh Lofting's original illustrations, which I really liked. This version was "gently revised for modern sensibilities" meaning they changed the part where a black prince asks Dr. Dolittle to make him white (instead, he wants to be a lion). It also has more detailed, color illustrations by Michael Hague, which are nice but not the same (probably because of a couple unflattering pics of the blac...more
I am and always have been a huge fan of old movies. As a kid I was shown the Doctor Dolittle movie starring Rex Harrison and fell in love with the story of a man who could talk to animals. It's been years since I saw the movie and decided to read the first book in the series. Besides The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Hugh Lofting wrote eleven other books in this children's series.
Dr. John Doolittle is a respected physician with a love of animals, who eventually loses his human patients due to the in...more
Dr. John Doolittle is a respected physician with a love of animals, who eventually loses his human patients due to the in...more
This book is an orignal! The story of this book is about a doctor by the name of Doolittle whom once was a medical doctor for humans, when his pet parrot thought him how to speak and understand animals he gave up his as a medical doctor and began to focus on helping animals. Dr. Doolittle became very famous and went on many adventures including one to Africa curing an Monkey epidemic. Dr. Doolittle journeyt was exciting and I think that it gives young children the oppurtunity to be creative and...more
I think I must have read the original version of this series? I remember I was reading some of the later books when I was 9. I don't really remember the parts about the Africans. I remember loving the idea of the doctor who could talk to animals. As a future vet, that's what I focused on. I have a vague sense that I may not have liked some of the racist stuff then but I pretty much ignored that part, knowing the book had been written in the past.
I expect I wouldn't want my kid to read the origin...more
I expect I wouldn't want my kid to read the origin...more
This is the origin story for Doctor Dolittle and company - how he learns the language of animals, the sickness of the monkeys in Africa, and then his exciting voyage home. The origin and Africa chapters are magical, but it is definitely the voyage home that the real Doctor Dolittle and his animal companions make their appearance. One of my favorite series of all time, I remember reading the politically incorrect version as a child, and this rightly more sensitive version is good. I went online t...more
So I don't much like reading books on my phone screen, because of the glare, which makes my eyes water. But sometimes I have to wait somewhere and all I've got is my phone, so I download a freebie to occupy the mind. "Classics", you understand. Which is how I came to read Dr. Dolittle, a story with which I was only vaguely familiar, having never even seen the film version(s?).
And my overall reaction is Nh. Racism in old books is a problematic topic and I tend to try and overlook it as Not Really...more
And my overall reaction is Nh. Racism in old books is a problematic topic and I tend to try and overlook it as Not Really...more
The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting is the imaginative and humorous first novel in the Voyages of Doctor Dolittle series. Thanks to his intelligent parrot Polynesia, Doctor Dolittle learns how to talk to animals. Because he has these unique skills, he becomes an animal doctor, and along the way helps countless animals.
Although a very simple story, written in a simple way - the way children would understand - The Story of Doctor Dolittle was excellent. Full of adventure and humor, you wi...more
Although a very simple story, written in a simple way - the way children would understand - The Story of Doctor Dolittle was excellent. Full of adventure and humor, you wi...more
This is my favorite book from my childhood. I checked it out from the school library so many times that my grandmother bought the book from the library, and the library ordered another copy for their shelves. I love animals, and I love Dr. Dolittle. If more people in the world understood and respected animals, we might have a chance of survival. The original movie with Rex Harrison as Dr. Dolittle, and wonderful songs by Anthony Newley remains enchanting to this day. I hate the way the story was...more
Dr. Doolittle is awesome! I loved this book when I read it as a kid, and I still love it. The one problem with reading it on kindle is that you don't get all the cool drawings Lofting embedded with his tale.
This is the first of the series. Dr. Doolittle's parrot teaches him to talk to animals. Once he has mastered this skill, he becomes an animal doctor and is asked to go to Africa where there is an epidemic of sickness among the monkeys. The doctor and his entourage are imprisoned by an Africa...more
This is the first of the series. Dr. Doolittle's parrot teaches him to talk to animals. Once he has mastered this skill, he becomes an animal doctor and is asked to go to Africa where there is an epidemic of sickness among the monkeys. The doctor and his entourage are imprisoned by an Africa...more
Oct 23, 2010
Vincent
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kid-s-books,
fiction
I have seen the movie - both the original musical version and the Eddie Murphy comedy version - but have never thought to read the book. I picked it up because of the artwork but when I began reading it to my kids, they really liked it. We are going to give Lofting's follow up book, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle a try.
On an interesting social note, there is much talk of the "Black Man" and the "White Man" when the Doctor gets to Africa. As I was reading to my kids I wasn't sure if the use of t...more
On an interesting social note, there is much talk of the "Black Man" and the "White Man" when the Doctor gets to Africa. As I was reading to my kids I wasn't sure if the use of t...more
Mar 24, 2012
Trace
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-lit,
classics
Luke - 5 star book
Momma - 3 star book
Agreed upon - 4 stars
In Luke's words: "One of my favorites characters in the book was Gub-Gub because he was a funny little pig. I also loved the flying fish!"
Momma's words: "I initially wasn't overly fond of this book... found it to be on the silly side - but not even a fun sort of silly for me. But I have to admit that it did spawn some great side discussions. And I grudgingly admit that Luke learned quite a bit about Geography.... and really - what more ca...more
Momma - 3 star book
Agreed upon - 4 stars
In Luke's words: "One of my favorites characters in the book was Gub-Gub because he was a funny little pig. I also loved the flying fish!"
Momma's words: "I initially wasn't overly fond of this book... found it to be on the silly side - but not even a fun sort of silly for me. But I have to admit that it did spawn some great side discussions. And I grudgingly admit that Luke learned quite a bit about Geography.... and really - what more ca...more
They say you musn't say anything about the dead unless it is good. For Hugh Lofting, he's dead; good.
This book is dedicated to ALL CHILDREN. Obviously, he did not believe Black people had children. Given the book was written in 1920, Black people were not expected to read, I suppose, even though Prince Bumpo reads fairy tales.
Unless one gets an abridged version of this book, I would NOT recommend it for children. Stick to the movies, if you must.
I hate reading a book and being blindsided by ra...more
This book is dedicated to ALL CHILDREN. Obviously, he did not believe Black people had children. Given the book was written in 1920, Black people were not expected to read, I suppose, even though Prince Bumpo reads fairy tales.
Unless one gets an abridged version of this book, I would NOT recommend it for children. Stick to the movies, if you must.
I hate reading a book and being blindsided by ra...more
Ahhh, Dr. Doolittle. I read this aloud to my son. He found it a little boring at times. Lofting has a wonderful childlike imagination and creates some memorable animal characters. However, his work suffers from a lack of control in the pacing. Episodes either happen too quickly or way too slowly. The plot is fun, yet unevenly paced. The character of Doolittle makes Eddie Murphy look like the washed up comedian that he is. The gentleness and persistence in helping others makes John Doolittle a ch...more
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Hugh Lofting was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle — one of the classics of children's literature.
Lofting was born in Maidenhead, England, to English and Irish parents. His early education was at Mount St Mary's College in Sheffield, after which he went to the United States, completing a degree in civil engineering at the Massachusetts Inst...more
More about Hugh Lofting...
Lofting was born in Maidenhead, England, to English and Irish parents. His early education was at Mount St Mary's College in Sheffield, after which he went to the United States, completing a degree in civil engineering at the Massachusetts Inst...more
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Sep 15, 2012 05:11am
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