Doctor Dolittle's Puddleby Adventures

Doctor Dolittle #12

by Hugh Lofting

From a voyage to Africa to a dog detective solving mysteries in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh, these adventures are as enthralling as any in the Doctor's eventful life.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Classics, Animals, Adventure

Textbook Binding

Published January 1, 2000

About the author

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 Institute of Technology.

He traveled widely as a civil engineer before enlisting in the Irish Guards to serve in World War I. Not wishing to write to his children of the brutality of the war, he wrote imaginative letters that were the foundation of the successful Doctor Dolittle novels for children. Seriously wounded in the war, he moved with his family to Connecticut in the United States. Lofting was married three times and had three children, one of whom, his son Christopher, is the executor of his literary estate.

"For years it was a constant source of shock to me to find my writings amongst 'juveniles,'" Lofting reported. "It does not bother me any more now, but I still feel there should be a category of 'seniles' to offset the epithet."

Doctor Dolittle
Hugh Lofting's doctor from Puddleby-on-the-Marsh who could speak to animals first saw light in the author's illustrated letters to children, written from the trenches during World War I when actual news, he later said, was either too horrible or too dull. The stories are set in early Victorian England, (in and around the 1840s, according to a date given in The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle). The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts Never Before Printed (1920) began the series and won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958.The sequel, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922), won Lofting the prestigious Newbery Medal. Eight more books followed, and after Lofting's death two more volumes, composed of short unpublished pieces, appeared. The series has been adapted for film and television many times, for stage twice, and for radio.
Other Works for Children
The Story of Mrs Tubbs (1923) and Tommy, Tilly, and Mrs. Tubbs (1936) are picture books aimed at a younger audience than the Doctor Dolittle books. They concern the titular old woman, her pets (with whom she can speak) and the animals who help her out of trouble.

Porridge Poetry (1924) is the only non-Dolittle work by Lofting still in print. It is a lighthearted, colorfully illustrated book of poems for children.

Noisy Nora (1929) is a cautionary tale about a girl who is a noisy eater. The book is printed as if hand-written, and the many illustrations often merge with the text.

The Twilight of Magic (1930) is aimed at older readers. It is set in an age when magic is dying and science is beginning. This work is the only one of Lofting's books to be illustrated by another person (Lois Lenski).
Victory for the Slain
Victory for the Slain (1942) is Lofting's only work for adults, a single long poem in seven parts about the futility of war; the refrain "In war the only victors are the slain" permeates the poem. It was published only in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories for children about Doctor Dolittle, the man who can talk to animals, by English-American writer Hugh Lofting. First published posthumously in 1952, it’s the last in the series of books about the Doctor and starts with a foreword by his widow Josephine and an introduction by his sister-in-law Olga Fricker. The eight stories include the saga of the Sea Dog, a dog detective, a sparrow with a Cockney(?) accent, and a maggot who travels all over the world. While the Doctor appears in every story, he is sometimes only a peripheral character listening to the animals tell about their experiences. Each tale features several simple and charming illustrations by the author.

Doctor Dolittle was the first book series I ever read. When I was around 6-7 years old, I couldn’t wait to go to the local library to borrow the next instalment. I loved all the eccentric characters, mostly animals of course, as they would casually chat with the good Doctor and he would help them in various situations at home and abroad. It was also very funny, because although the animals talk in complex grammar and regional dialects and quote from literature, much of the time they still behave like animals. As an adult, I better appreciate the message of kindness and conservation that it gives to young children, presenting animals as intelligent creatures with thoughts and feelings.

Unfortunately Dolittle has never been portrayed well in film, as they always fumble Hugh Lofting’s gentle English humour and his environmental message in favour of bad songs and worse jokes. But I recommend the books to any parent with children under the age of 10 who are competent readers. I really enjoyed revisiting Puddleby-on-the-Marsh, as it brought back many of my own early reading memories.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of some shorter stories set at various times during Doctor Dolittle's different voyages, including his African travels and his Canary Opera in London. The first few stories are tales from the Home for Crossbred Dogs, as the dogs describe their various adventures and how they came to be a part of the Doctor's club for dogs. There is also a story from a maggot, who tells the Doctor about the trials of an insect who attempts to travel further than his home tree.

I liked this book, but a couple of the stories did not capture my interest as much as the other Dolittle books. The maggot's story was sort of strange, and there is a story about a lost little boy who follows the Doctor home that wasn't very interesting. The other stories are wonderful though, and I really enjoyed the writing style! This is a good ending to the Doctor Dolittle series, since it revisits some of the exciting times in the Doctor's life with more details and rabbit trails.

[Keeko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and funny, and I love the illustrations. I am surprised that they have so many adventures. I didn't expect it to be so suspenseful. I like the style of writing very much. It's simple and direct, doesn't try hard to be cute or to send a message, but it accomplishes both very nicely. I'm looking forward to reading more of them.

[Christiane · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, not as compelling as the full-lengh novels. On the other hand, there are very few children's short stories about an adventurous maggot!

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

[Eitaknella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Martyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

And yet another enjoyable volume of Doctor Dolittle stories. In spite of being published posthumously I found them as good as the general books. It's a pity the origins of these stories weren't explained, whether he wrote them specially, intending them for parts of a new book, or whether they were adventures which were originally intended to form parts of earlier books but were removed for the lack of space, like episodes which were intended to fit into Doctor Dolittle's Caravan, or The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. Anyhow, whatever their origins, they don't fall below the usual standard and they form an interesting assortment of mini-stories, but they probably ought to be read shortly after you have read all the other books in the series so that you can easily grasp where and how they fit in to the scheme of things.

[nAeEMak نعیمک]

چندتا داستان کوتاه از زبان خود جانوران. این بار کمی ماجراها جذاب‌تر است چون قصه‌هایی داریم که مدام دوست دارم بدانم انتهایشان چی‌ می‌شود. البته قصه‌های باسمه‌ای هم داریم که انگار دوباره نویسنده فقط خواسته یک چیزهایی بگوید. اما باحال‌تر از همه یک داستان کارآگاهی هست که واقعاً حیوانات در آن نقش دارند و هر چی جلوتر می‌رفت بانمک‌تر و باحال‌تر می‌شد و شاید حتی نمی‌شد حدس زد اتفاقات تقصیر کی بوده. هنوز مشکل طولانی بودن و آب بستن را دارد اما حتی قصۀ یک کرم را داریم و می‌تواند برای وقت خواب قصه‌های باحالی برای گفتن باشد. هنوز فکر می‌کنم برای بچه‌های کوچک‌تر جالب و جادویی باشد اما برای من دیگر جذابیتی ندارد.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A continuation on the thought that animal lives are at least as interesting, if not more so than human lives. We hear portions of the life stories of several animals, including a maggot, and also the trouble people bring into the doctor's life that animals seldom do. Excellent read!

[Kate H · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hugh Lofting Doctor Dolittle stories are classics that stand the test of time. I really enjoy them and find them clever and enjoyable. I think the writing can be seen as a bit dated but I think it's still extremely readable.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

finished the series!!! enjoyable reads a little at a time, took my about 3 years to complete. I think the story of the maggots travels was my favorite in this one!!

[Whitney Frasier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of the book are funny. Other parts are completely boring to my kiddos.