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The Story of Doctor Dolittle Audiobook
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(3.00) - 18,562 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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 Doctor Dolittle 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.
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"I first read this when I was ten years old having found it browsing the shelves at the library. This sweet and charming story impressed me today as much as it did 55 years ago. Unfortunately, it is politically incorrect, but the amusing characters and the lively story make up for this if one takes into account when it was written."
— Nora (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Any child who is not given the opportunity to make the acquaintance of this rotund, kindly, and enthusiastic doctor/naturalist and all of his animal friends will miss out on something important.”
— Jane Goodall, New York Times bestselling author -
“[Wanda McCaddon] has a great time hooting, greeting, barking, and grunting through this kick-off book in the famous children’s series. Her distinctive British intonations fit in perfectly with the settings…[McCaddon] attempts to give each animal its species-specific voice, and she succeeds with enthusiasm, levity, and gaiety…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
The Story of Doctor Dolittle Listener Reviews
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" This quirky book is a terrific read for kids who love animals and fantasy. The language is a bit dated, but the vocabulary is definitely attainable for ages 8 and up. Animals are happy, this vet is a hero, and all loose ends are nicely tied up in the end. "
— Zoe, 2/16/2014 -
" 5 yr old & 8 yr old both loved it!!!!!!!!! That has not happened before! "
— Martha, 2/12/2014 -
" Not as good as I had hoped, but still fun. "
— Rebecca, 2/8/2014 -
" Both kids loved this book! I love the pictures by Michael Hague! "
— Kpretzler, 2/5/2014 -
" What a great book. Everyone both young and old should read this book. My 7-year old and I just finished reading it. She loved it! "
— Craig, 1/28/2014 -
" Not as good as the second one but still, awesome!!! "
— Oriana, 1/26/2014 -
" I may be burned at the stake for saying this, but I just finished reading "Dr. Doolittle" to the kids and I'm left wondering why it's considered a classic? The premise is cute but Lofting's writing style left me cold and the kids a bit bored. Give me Roald Dahl any day! "
— Carol, 1/23/2014 -
" A fun and easy read. Would love to read with my kids. Several reviewers were offended by white man/black man chapter. It was a little weird, but so is a book about talking animals. "
— Suzanne, 1/22/2014 -
" Read this to Kate, we read 2 chapters a night, was fun to read together, esp as she loves animals. "
— Claire, 1/19/2014 -
" ...but my 7-yr-old REALLY liked it. "
— Lennie, 1/18/2014 -
" Both of my older boys (4 and almost 6) loved this book. The animals were lovable and had great double names like Dab-Dab, Gub-Gub, and Too-Too. The adventure that Doctor Doolittle goes on is very fun. Great find. A solid 4.5 stars. "
— Katie, 1/13/2014 -
" A fun and easy read. Would love to read with my kids. Several reviewers were offended by white man/black man chapter. It was a little weird, but so is a book about talking animals. "
— Suzanne, 1/11/2014 -
" Such a fun story! My kids will love it! "
— Morgan, 1/11/2014 -
" Poor Doctor Dolittle (of the little town of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh) has lost all his clients due to his assiduous care of his furry, feathery, and scaly friends. Without clients he has no means of support -- oh, what to do? Polynesia the Parrot steps in with a solution -- animal speech lessons! But terrific as this is, it opens the door to more trouble and some far-flung adventures. "
— Vivian, 1/9/2014 -
" Our Christmast break family book. I remember it being so much longer when I was a kid. "
— Eliana, 1/1/2014 -
" What a great book. Everyone both young and old should read this book. My 7-year old and I just finished reading it. She loved it! "
— Craig, 12/9/2013 -
" Some children's books are thoroughly entertaining for anyone. This one seemed like it would be much more enjoyable shared with my children. Quick read...plenty of adventure...imaginative. "
— Nicole, 11/25/2013 -
" a doctor who changed his job to a vet, and he learned animal languages from a parrot. Then he became the most famous vet among animals... "
— Zhangq, 11/21/2013 -
" Borrowed these books from the school library when I was young. Adored them all, great for animal lovers, and people who like travel and adventure. "
— Judy, 11/4/2013 -
" i loved this book as a kid. "
— Teresa, 10/22/2013 -
" This was my favorite book as a child. I read it again, not long ago, and I still loved it. "
— Christina, 10/21/2013 -
" 5 yr old & 8 yr old both loved it!!!!!!!!! That has not happened before! "
— Martha, 10/18/2013 -
" I absolutely adored this book as a kid. "
— Joanna, 10/17/2013 -
" The kids and I had lots of fun reading this. We're taking a break from Dr. Dolittle, but we do plan on reading The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle soon. "
— Jennie, 10/15/2013 -
" I wish there were more of these.. so enjoyable as a quick read. "
— Robert, 9/30/2013 -
" This book was easy to read. "
— Shuyo, 9/21/2013 -
" This book is so good, I was sad to end it. Although it was kinda hard to read at some points, and at the end it dragged a little. But other then that I loved it! "
— Kaylea, 7/19/2013 -
" This is an interesting book about talking animals. If you are a animal lover and wished your animal could talk back you would enjoy this book. This book is similar to the Dr. Dolittle movies. "
— Tiffany, 7/9/2013 -
" Loved this book with all my heart. "
— Jessicasherrell, 5/28/2013 -
" It was a pretty good book. I liked it a lot. "
— Darren, 5/27/2013 -
" What a fun book! I love all the Doctor Dolittle stories! "
— Kailey, 5/26/2013 -
" Loved these books as a kid about a Doctor who can talk to animals and goes on adventures around the world. Meet Chi Chi, Dab Dab, Gub Gub, Jip and the amazing parrot Polynesia. "
— TMJ, 4/19/2013 -
" Brilliant book - captures the magic needed for children to love it (without any actual magic involved) "
— Tamara, 12/30/2012 -
" A fun book of adventure accompanied by some morals and great teaching moments. The boys loved it. "
— Melissa, 11/20/2012 -
" Loved this book with all my heart. "
— Jessicasherrell, 8/11/2012 -
" This was a great book to read to my kids. They loved hearing about the adventures. "
— Dayna, 8/5/2012 -
" Read to the kids...they loved it! "
— Gens, 5/16/2012 -
" One of the joys of having children is enjoying books with them. Holly and I read this one more than once and I can't wait to read it with Kemper. Just a delightfully entertaining story. "
— Elorra, 5/1/2012 -
" Quinn:"I loved it, I loved it, I loved it! ... Write that 10 times." "
— Jenna, 1/21/2012 -
" I love Doctor Dolittle. The entire series is utterly charming. "
— Debbie, 1/4/2012 -
" Fun read and one that I hadn't read in years. "
— Traci, 12/18/2011 -
" This is a good one, I haven't read it in a while but from what I can remeber it was good. It's nothing like the movie,just so you know. I like this version better. "
— Brianne, 12/17/2011 -
" I may be burned at the stake for saying this, but I just finished reading "Dr. Doolittle" to the kids and I'm left wondering why it's considered a classic? The premise is cute but Lofting's writing style left me cold and the kids a bit bored. Give me Roald Dahl any day! "
— Carol, 12/13/2011 -
" Haha, wow, I read this a long time ago. It's a great story for children. "
— Hana, 11/19/2011 -
" Nice story about a Dr. that can talk to animals. I always thought that if I just could listen very carefully, my dogs and cats would talk to me. Sadly it never happened, but it still could one day. :D "
— Melissa, 11/3/2011 -
" This book was easy to read. "
— Shuyo, 9/26/2011 -
" This is another of my favorite books I read as a kid. Between this and The Wind in the Willows, I was destined to become an animal lover! "
— Tina, 9/15/2011 -
" a clasic and very imaginitive "
— Jessie, 8/4/2011 -
" So cozy! And makes me think of Rex Harrison, which is always a good thing. "
— Kate, 7/19/2011 -
" I thought this was a really fun book, and would recommend it to any child who loves animals! "
— Bryn, 6/27/2011 -
" Hard not to enjoy this dear old chap and all his animals. Hugh Lofting wrote this story as letters to his children while being on the front in the first world war - and made illustrations as well in the letters. <br/> "
— Carsten, 5/10/2011 -
" Hard not to enjoy this dear old chap and all his animals. Hugh Lofting wrote this story as letters to his children while being on the front in the first world war - and made illustrations as well in the letters. <br/> "
— Carsten, 5/10/2011 -
" This was my favorite book as a child. I read it again, not long ago, and I still loved it. "
— Christina, 4/27/2011 -
" This was my favorite book as a child. I read it again, not long ago, and I still loved it. "
— Christina, 4/27/2011 -
" Fun read and one that I hadn't read in years. "
— Traci, 2/22/2011 -
" Fun read and one that I hadn't read in years. "
— Traci, 2/22/2011 -
" Marissa was interested in the book, but it wasn't one of our favorites. It took us a while to finish; which says a lot. "
— Christine, 2/11/2011 -
" Marissa was interested in the book, but it wasn't one of our favorites. It took us a while to finish; which says a lot. "
— Christine, 2/11/2011 -
" A fun and easy read. Would love to read with my kids. Several reviewers were offended by white man/black man chapter. It was a little weird, but so is a book about talking animals. "
— Suzanne, 2/4/2011 -
" A fun and easy read. Would love to read with my kids. Several reviewers were offended by white man/black man chapter. It was a little weird, but so is a book about talking animals. "
— Suzanne, 2/4/2011 -
" ...but my 7-yr-old REALLY liked it. "
— Lennie, 2/2/2011 -
" ...but my 7-yr-old REALLY liked it. "
— Lennie, 2/2/2011 -
" I did not think I would love this as much as I did. What a great adventure. We will be reading the rest of this series for sure. "
— Lisa, 1/18/2011 -
" I did not think I would love this as much as I did. What a great adventure. We will be reading the rest of this series for sure. "
— Lisa, 1/18/2011 -
" I enjoyed this read from the library and think I would put it down on my "Wish to Own" Book list. I've been thinking alot about children's books lately and feel this would be great to read outloud. "
— Amy, 1/14/2011 -
" I enjoyed this read from the library and think I would put it down on my "Wish to Own" Book list. I've been thinking alot about children's books lately and feel this would be great to read outloud. "
— Amy, 1/14/2011 -
" Haha, wow, I read this a long time ago. It's a great story for children. "
— Hana, 1/6/2011 -
" Haha, wow, I read this a long time ago. It's a great story for children. "
— Hana, 1/6/2011 -
" i loved this book as a kid. "
— Teresa, 12/9/2010 -
" i loved this book as a kid. "
— Teresa, 12/9/2010 -
" I wish there were more of these.. so enjoyable as a quick read. "
— Robert, 11/19/2010 -
" I wish there were more of these.. so enjoyable as a quick read. "
— Robert, 11/19/2010
About Hugh Lofting
Hugh John Lofting (1886–1947), born in Berkshire and educated at a Jesuit boarding-school in Derbyshire, trained first as an architect and later as a civil engineer. His children’s stories originated in the illustrated letters he sent to his family from the front in World War I. The Story of Dr. Doolittle, the first of his series, appeared in 1920 and won instant success.
From 1922 to 1928 he wrote one Dr. Dolittle book a year, and these seven are considered the best of the series. The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle (1922) won the Newbery Medal as the best children’s book of the year. Wearying of his hero, Lofting tried to get rid of him by sending him to the moon (Dr. Dolittle in the Moon, 1928), but popular demand compelled him to write Dr. Dolittle’s Return in 1933. The last book of the series was published posthumously.
About Wanda McCaddon
Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.