Other editions of book The Story of Doctor Dolittle

Doctor Dolittle, a little, lovable old doctor, had so many animal pets spread throughout his house and garden that patients would not come to him anymore. As a result, he became poorer and poorer. But he occupied nearly all of his time tending to his pets, and his fame as an animal doctor spread all over the world. When the monkeys in Africa were stricken with an epidemic, they gave the good doctor a call. He set sail at once. The adventures during his magnificent journey across the ocean, through the high kingdom of the Jolliginki and back again by way of the Canaries, combine to form a story filled with delight. An enduring classic, it will dazzle and delight readers young and old.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts (1920), written and illustrated by the British author Hugh Lofting, is the first of his Doctor Dolittle books, a series of children's novels about a man who learns to talk to animals and becomes their champion around the world. It was one of the novels in the series which was adapted into the film Doctor Dolittle.John Dolittle, MD, is a respected physician and quiet bachelor living with his spinster sister Sarah in the small English village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh. His love of animals grows over the years and his household menagerie eventually scares off his human clientele, leading to loss of wealth. But after learning the secret of speaking to all animals from his parrot Polynesia, he takes up veterinary practice.

In The Story of Doctor Dolittle, the first of Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle books, we are introduced to the good doctor who gives up treating people after Polynesia, his parrot, teaches him animal languages. His fame in the animal kingdom spreads throughout the world and soon he sets off to cure a monkey epidemic in Africa, finding all sorts of exciting adventures on the way.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts is the first of the classically loved Doctor Dolittle series by Hugh Lofting. Doctor John Dolittle is a physician living in England who loves animals. He acquires many animals in his small home, but the volume of animals causes his human patients to be uncomfortable and seek out other practitioners. Doctor Dolittle does the most sensible thing in that situation - learns to speak to the animals from his pet parrot, and takes up veterinary medicine instead of human medicine.Soon after, many animals seek him out and take residence in his home, causing all sorts of problems, but giving Dolittle the fame he needs to travel the world as a special doctor to animals. He begins adventuring throughout the world to help sick and injured animals, and runs into animals and mythical creatures who benefit from his expertise.This story is charming and has been the basis for many movies over the years. Its humor and adventurous spirit are sure to delight readers of all ages.