The Story of Doctor Dolittle

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A beautiful paperback of Hugh Lofting's enduring children's classic, with original illustrations by the author. Doctor Dolittle isn't a normal doctor. He doesn't treat humans - he treats animals instead! He loves animals so much that his busy house in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh is full of every creature imaginable - from parrots to pigs, monkeys to dogs and many more - and very soon he even learns how to speak their language.The doctor's animal friends are quick to tell him that the monkeys in Africa have become infected with a terrible disease, so with a team of trusty creatures by his side the kind-hearted doctor sets off on an action-packed adventure to save them.Hugh Lofting's The Story of Doctor Dolittle is one of the most fun, delightful and imaginative stories in children's literature. Featuring the eccentric doctor who learns to talk to animals, the novel has been adapted as a major film starring Robert Downey Jr., Emma Thompson and Selena Gomez. This beautiful paperback edition is illustrated with original line drawing from Hugh Lofting himself and contains engaging bonus material such as a quiz and a word search at the end.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

The Story of Doctor Dolittle The First Chapter PUDDLEBY ONCE UPON A TIME, MANY YEARS AGO--WHEN OUR grandfathers were little children--there was a doctor, and his name was Dolittle--John Dolittle, M.D. "M.D." means that he was a proper doctor and knew a whole lot. He lived in a little town called Puddleby-on-the-Marsh. All the folks, young and old, knew him well by sight. And whenever he walked down the street in his high hat everyone would say, "There goes the Doctor! He's a clever man." And the dogs and the children would all run up and follow behind him; and even the crows that lived in the church tower would caw and nod their heads. The house he lived in, on the edge of the town, was quite small, but his garden was very large and had a wide lawn and stone seats and weeping willows hanging over. His sister, Sarah Dolittle, was housekeeper for him, but the Doctor looked after the garden himself. He was very fond of animals and kept many kinds of pets. Besides the goldfish in the pond at the bottom of his garden, he had rabbits in the pantry, white mice in his piano, a squirrel in the linen closet, and a hedgehog in the cellar. He had a cow with a calf too, and an old lame horse--twenty-five years of age--and chickens, and pigeons, and two lambs, and many other animals. But his favorite pets were Dab-Dab the duck, Jip the dog, Gub-Gub the baby pig, Polynesia the parrot, and the owl Too-Too. His sister used to grumble about all these animals and said they made the house untidy. And one day when an old lady with rheumatism came to see the Doctor, she sat on the hedgehog who was sleeping on the sofa and never came to see him anymore, but drove every Saturday all the way to Oxenthorpe, another town ten miles off, to see a different doctor. Then his sister, Sarah Dolittle, came to him and said, "John, how can you expect sick people to come and see you when you keep all these animals in the house? It's a fine doctor would have his parlor full of hedgehogs and mice! That's the fourth personage these animals have driven away. Squire Jenkins and the Parson say they wouldn't come near your house again--no matter how sick they are. We are getting poorer every day. If you go on like this, none of the best people will have you for a doctor." "But I like the animals better than the 'best people,'" said the Doctor. "You are ridiculous," his sister said, and walked out of the room. So, as time went on, the Doctor got more and more animals, and the people who came to see him got less and less. Till at last he had no one left--except the Cat's-meatMan, who didn't mind any kind of animals. But the Cat's-meat-Man wasn't very rich and he only got sick once a year--at Christmastime, when he used to give the Doctor sixpence for a bottle of medicine. Sixpence a year wasn't enough to live on--even in those days, long ago--and if the Doctor hadn't had some money saved up in his money box, no one knows what would have happened. And he kept on getting still more pets; and of course, it cost a lot to feed them. And the money he had saved up grew littler and littler. Then he sold his piano, and let the mice live in a bureau drawer. But the money he got for that, too, began to go, so he sold the brown suit he wore on Sundays and went on becoming poorer and poorer. And now when he walked down the street in his high hat, people would say to one another, "There goes John Dolittle, M.D.! There was a time when he was the best-known doctor in the West Country. Look at him now--he hasn't any money and his stockings are full of holes!" But the dogs and the cats and the children still ran up and followed him through the town--the same as they had done when he was rich. All new material copyright (c) 1998 by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Excerpted from The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Kleinbaum's adaptations, accompanied by Lofting's illustrations from the original editions, bring the classic books to younger readers. Ages 6-9. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-8-The story of Doctor Doolittle's adventures and his eventual return home with the miraculous animal who joined the family. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Gr. 3-6. Out of print since the early 1970s, these classic children's books have been edited to remove racially offensive passages and illustrations. Story, first published in 1920, was the first title in the series and is considered by many to be the best. Voyages won the 1923 Newbery Medal. Textual changes are minimal, but salutary. While a few of the illustrations have been cropped or deleted, the publishers have added other drawings by Lofting that were not used in the original editions. Libraries will welcome the opportunity to replace battered, rebound copies, flawed with objectionable references and stereotypes, with these bright, new volumes retaining all the essential charm, wit, and humanity of the originals. CP.

Horn Book Review

Introduction by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack. Afterword by Peter Glassman. Prince Bumpo wants to be a 'lion' in this newest clean-up of 'Doctor Dolittle', a decision explained--if not explored--by the McKissacks in their introduction. Otherwise, most is the same. Hague's line drawings and dark-toned paintings have all the old-fashioned allure enjoyed by his many fans. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.