Other editions of book The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle

ALL that I have written so far about Doctor Dolittle I heard long after it happened from those who had known him-indeed a great deal of it took place before I was born. But I now come to set down that part of the great man's life which I myself saw and took part in. Many years ago the Doctor gave me permission to do this. But we were both of us so busy then voyaging around the world, having adventures and filling notebooks full of natural history that I never seemed to get time to sit down and write of our doings. Now of course, when I am quite an old man, my memory isn't so good any more. But whenever I am in doubt and have to hesitate and think, I always ask Polynesia, the parrot. That wonderful bird (she is now nearly two hundred and fifty years old) sits on the top of my desk, usually humming sailor songs to herself, while I write this book. And, as every one who ever met her knows, Polynesia's memory is the most marvelous memory in the world. If there is any happening I am not quite sure of, she is always able to put me right, to tell me exactly how it took place, who was there and everything about it. In fact sometimes I almost think I ought to say that this book was written by Polynesia instead of me. Very well then, I will begin. And first of all I must tell you something about myself and how I came to meet the Doctor.

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle was the second of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books to be published, coming out in 1922. It is nearly five times as long as its predecessor and the writing style is pitched at a more mature audience. The scope of the novel is vast; it is divided into six parts and the illustrations are also more sophisticated. It won the Newbery Medal for 1923. It was one of the novels in the series which was adapted into the film Doctor Dolittle.Tommy Stubbins, the narrator of the story, finds a squirrel injured by a hawk so the mussel man informs him to get help from Doctor Dolittle. Tommy goes to Mathew Mugg to find out where the doctor lives who tells him that the Doctor can speak the language of animals so they go to his house but find out he's gone away on a voyage and is guarded by the his dog Jip. Later the Doctor comes home to meet Tommy and takes care of his squirrel then explains when Tommy see's a strange fish creature in his house that it's a Wiff-Waff and is trying to learn shellfish language but eventually he quits it as it is too hard to study. Unexpectedly Polynesia turns up in Puddleby from Africa who informs the Doctor that Bumpo is studying in Bullford then Tommy gets the Doctor, with the help of Poynesia, to teach him the animal languages. After Polynesia teaches Tommy the language of animals, so he can understand Jip and Dub-Dub, Chee-Chee comes from Africa disguised as a lady and tells about his voyage to Puddleby. The Doctor then gets a vessel called The Curlew and is thinking of taking Tommy, Polynesia, and Luke the Hermit. They find out from the hermit's dog, Bob, that he was sent to prison for murder but Bob is a witness so when the court is in process the Doctor proves to the judge that he can talk to animals, when this is settled he translates Bob's story to English. When the story is finished the judges conclude that the hermit is innocent.

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The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle was the second of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books to be published, coming out in 1922. It is nearly five times as long as its predecessor and the writing style is pitched at a more mature audience. The scope of the novel is vast; it is divided into six parts and the illustrations are also more sophisticated. It won the Newbery Medal for 1923.