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    The Story of Dr. Dolittle
    The Story of Dr. Dolittle
    The Story of Dr. Dolittle
    Audiobook2 hours

    The Story of Dr. Dolittle

    Written by Hugh Lofting

    Narrated by David Case

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    No one loves and understands animals like the eccentric nineteenth-century physician Dr. Dolittle-who masters animal language with the help of Polynesia the parrot. After his human patients desert him, the kind-hearted doctor finds his calling in practicing animal medicine, and his fame spreads far and wide. When a terrible epidemic breaks out among monkeys in Africa, Dr. Dolittle sets out to save them, accompanied by some of his favorite pets. Thus begins the amusing, whimsical adventures of Dr. Dolittle and the animal kingdom. Hugh Lofting, winner of the 1923 Newbery Medal for The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle, has a gifted knack for imbuing unique, distinct personalities in his characters-human and animal alike.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 5, 2009
    ISBN9781400178957
    The Story of Dr. Dolittle
    Author

    Hugh Lofting

    Hugh Lofting was born in Maidenhead in 1886. He studied engineering in London and America and his work as a civil engineer took him all over the world. He interrupted his career to enlist in the army and fight in the First World War. Wanting to shield his children from the horrors of combat, including the fate of horses on the battlefield, he wrote to them instead about a kindly doctor who could talk to animals. After the war he settled with his family in Connecticut and it was from there that he published his Doctor Dolittle books. The Story of Doctor Dolittle was published in 1920, followed by twelve more in the series. The highly acclaimed author died in 1947.

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    Reviews for The Story of Dr. Dolittle

    4/5

    28 ratings16 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Excellent narration! The narrator sets an excellent scene and is absolutely the best version I've heard for Dr. Dolittle. Absolutely, wonderful voice acting!
    • 4/5
      Yes there is some racial language found in this delightful story of a doctor who can talk with animals. But keeping in mind this was written in 1920 it is the perfect book to educate our children on how far or how little we've come since then.
    • 3/5
      The first book in a series of children's novels about a man who learns to talk to animals and travels the world to help them out. I recently re-watched the 1967 movie since it was a childhood favorite of mine and it's still quite good (although why they cast Rex Harrison - who can't sing to save his life - in a musical is beyond me), but I realized I had never actually read any of the books so I picked this one up to give it a try. It's quite entertaining and especially the animals have some nice lines, but beware than it's quite racist by today's standards, e.g. featuring an African prince who asks Dolittle to turn him white since Sleeping Beauty won't marry him because he's black. It's not a series I mean to continue, but it was fun to have tried one installment. David Case is not a great reader, so I'd suggest not going for his audio-version.
    • 3/5
      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 will not be able to put this book down. The characters, especially the animals, come to vivid life, and practically leap of the page to trot, swing, or pad through your living room! The Story of Doctor Dolittle is good for the young, and the young-at-heart..
    • 4/5
      The story of Dr. Dolittle who is abandoned by his human patients because of all his pets. He is then abandoned by his animal patients because he refuses to give up his pet crocodile. His money is all gone, his sister leaves him to get married, and he is on the point of being unable to feed his animals. He must get to Africa because the monkeys there are suffering from a terrible disease. The story is about his adventures in Africa and his eventual return to Puddleby-on-the-Marsh.I reread this as an adult and enjoyed it every bit as much as I did when I was a child. The magical notion of talking animals never gets tired for me. Some of the aspects of the story are noticeably dated, but it comes by it honestly enough.
    • 3/5
      A classic children's adventure story; Dr Doolittle and his friends travel to Africa to help the monkeys. Beware though, this writing is very much of its age and the vocabulary used (and some of the opinions expressed) should be taken with a generous pinch of salt.
    • 3/5
      The first book in the Doctor Dolittle series. Doctor Dolittle is a terrible physician. He's good at his job, but no patients will ever come visit him because he has too many animals. So, he decides to become a veterinarian. Unlike the Eddie Murphy version, the originial Doctor Dolittle gains the ability to speak to and understand animals through kindness (so the animals will be willing to talk to him) and a lot of hard work. One day, a monkey comes to visit and informs the doctor that all of the monkeys in Africa are getting sick. So, the doctor and a few of his favorite animal companions sail to Africa to help them.The whole Doctor Dolittle series is exactly what you'd expect it to be: great if you like classic kids' books; probably pretty boring if you don't.
    • 5/5
      Doctor Dolittle is an impoverished doctor who is very friendly with animals. After he gives up his human practice and becomes an animal doctor, he receives a cry for help from the monkeys of Africa who are experiencing an epidemic sickness. I have fond memories of reading all the Doctor Dolittle books as a child. This is my first time to re-read one and I was not disappointed. Lofting was a master storyteller and this book enchants from start to finish. Each chapter is packed with action, adventure and humour. There are many endearing animal characters, each with their own distinct personality. I loved Gub-Gub the pig who was frequently reduced to tears, while my 7yo loved Polynesia the wise and rather bossy parrot. This was a fun and quick book to read aloud and the 7yo enjoyed it immensely. The second book in the series has already been placed on our up-and-coming read-alouds pile.
    • 3/5
      In this story, Dr. Dolittle fails as a human doctor (one of his patients flipped out when she sat on a hedgehog he was keeping, and it was all downhill from there), he becomes really poor from lack of patients, and his sister (the housekeeper) gets sick of the poverty and constant animals underfoot and leaves. His one remaining patient tells him he should become an animal doctor. His parrot thinks this is a good idea, and teaches him how to talk to animals (she's the perfect candidate, of course, because she can use human speech too). So then he gains renown as an animal doctor, and all the animals love him (and all the horses around are starting to wear spectacles), and then he has to go to Africa to save the sick monkeys...And then it just meanders on from there. There were moments that were supposed to be exciting, but I found the premise so ludicrous that I was never in any suspense over them. I actually didn't like Dr. Dolittle much -- he really does "do little" (and just wait 'til you see how he gains back all that money he lost...), and I'm sorry but the only explanation for how he can talk to animals is that his parrot taught him? If it weren't for the fact that I remember liking The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle, I would doubt that I could buy this story even as a kid. I didn't hate the book, but two CDs never seemed like a longer story.
    • 5/5
      Looking for a faster, easier, more rewarding path in your interpersonal relationships at work or at home? You could achieve a level of skill in this area probably beyond your imaginings. The secret is a systematic and insightful approach, using the best of practical psychology, NLP, ancient wisdom, and first-hand experience of organizational life at all levels. Such a systematic approach is available for you here in the form of the Relationship Mastery formula.
    • 5/5
      I first read The Story of Doctor Dolittle when I was a young child. It is definitely an all-time-favourite of mine. The storytelling is superb, and there are lots of great characters. I really liked Polynesia, the parrot, and the extraordinary 'PUSHMI-PULLYU' - What fantastic imagination! - I'm still hoping to meet one!

      I'm going to read this story again soon! A complete review to follow.

      Recommended reading for young children and fun-loving adults too!
    • 4/5
      This book was a success with my kids. It is the story of how Dr. Dolittle came to learn the language of the animals and made his first trip to Africa to cure the sick monkeys. He also collected the pushme pullyou. This is a pretty sraightforward prose style. It was originally written in the form of letters home to Lofting's children when he was an engineer stationed in Africa during World War I. The sentences are short, declarative sentences, without a lot of description or pacing. A lot of dialogue and a fast paced plot. The words are easy and the print in this voluem is larger and easier for a child to read to herself than the second volume, the Voyages of Dr. Dolittle (which also has a more sophisticated style) (Perhaps Lofting's children were simply older when he wrote the second volume.I particularly enjoyed the character of the doctor, who is somewhat taciturn. The voices of the animals are heard often at greater length than his. I like the way he listenes carefully to what they say and almost always takes their advice. He really treats them like colleagues on an expedition. There is no significant human domination in the relationship -- other than that which results because the doctor can cure animals. Indeed, some of the animals seem so much more sensible than the doctor about things like money and housekeeping and business that we feel the doctor would be lost without their help. But he is so sincere and kind we understand exactly why they love him.
    • 1/5
      Racist and not that well-written, and there's very little depth to the characters. And after dealing with in-laws who have a blase attitude toward money (i.e. more will just magically appear when you need it), I found the Doctor's passiveness and impracticality very frustrating. This merits a star only because there are a few charming moments, such as the horse who gets green sunglasses to wear in the fields. (Read out loud at bedtime, under duress.)
    • 4/5
      This is an abridged version of the classic story of the doctor who can talk to animals, and who embarks on a rescue mission to Africa. The illustrations are reminiscent of the book I recall, although not the same. The story, too, follows the same path but is less long-winded and somewhat more politically correct than the original. There are still some generalisations and more than a hint of the racism that rather dogged the books as originally written almost a century ago. Nonetheless it's an excellent story, one that has appealed to children (and adults!) for a long time. I read it aloud to my four-year-old grandson, who has heard it before and no doubt will hear it again. I thought it excellent as an adaptation, a great introduction to a series which I hope my grandson will read for himself when he's older.
    • 4/5
      Summary: Dr. Dolittle is a British country doctor with a soft spot for animals - so much so that his human clientele has dropped off steeply due to the abundance of animals around his house. His parrot, Polynesia, wisely suggests that he become an animal doctor rather than a people doctor, and sets about teaching him the secret language that animals use to talk to each other. With this knowledge, Dr. Dolittle becomes the best animal doctor there ever was, and his fame spreads among animals far and wide. Eventually, he is called to Africa where there is a great sickness among the monkeys, but getting there safely - and back - is no mean feat for a poor country doctor.Review: I loved the Dr. Dolittle Treasury when I was younger, and I was pleased to find that the original version of the first book has lost none of its charm, even now that I'm a grownup. One the one hand, it is a product of its time, and there's some casual racism surrounding Dr. Dolittle's trip to Africa that reads uncomfortably today. But, on the other hand, I think the desire to talk to the animals is a pretty universal one amongst children (or maybe just amongst children destined to grow up to be biologists?), and the animals are absolutely the star of the show. Lofting renders their personalities clearly and uniquely, so that they're all each individuals as well as representatives of their species - most dog owners will recognize their own pet in Jip, for example. There are plenty of adventures to keep this short book moving along quickly, some good laughs, and the fact that it was written for children keeps the language from becoming dense or overblown. It's not a particularly deep book, but it is charming and fun, and deserves its status as a children's classic. 4 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: Anyone who has kids who like animals, or anyone who *was* a kid who liked animals should definitely pick this one up for a nice little break.
    • 3/5
      I didn't fall in love with this book. I like to introduce our kids to lasting literature, classics, if you will. I want them to be well-rounded. To complete having read this book we will also watch the original movie with Rex Harrison and then also the newer version with Eddie Murphy.