Doctor Dolittle's Circus [Hardcover]

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Jonathan Cape (1969)
• ASIN: B000SVZDY4
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DOCTOR DOLITTLE'S CIRCUS, July 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Doctor Dolittle's Circus (Textbook Binding)

Hilarious fourth Dolittle story has the good-natured vet once again joining Blossom's Mammoth circus to exhibit a freak animal called the pushmi-pullyu,and while doing so,rescues a seal from captivity.Great fast-paced children's writing, though it may not have some your favorite characters from the first three books.Kids will love the ending.It is hard to understand why such a good book should be out of print.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dolittle is required reading!, February 26, 2005

By 

Matt Hetling "Matt" (Bethel, ME USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dr. Dolittle's Circus (Paperback)

In the _Dr. Dolittle_ books, Lofting has created a series with no weak links, and this entry, in which circumstances force Dr. Dolittle to take over the management of a traveling circus, is as entertaining as could be.

Dolittle needs to raise some money to send a dear friend back to his African jungle home, and he reluctantly agrees to participate in a circus in order to raise the money. The ordinarily mild-mannered Doctor becomes righteously indignant when he sees the maltreatment of the circus animals by the ringmaster, an unsavory Mr. Blossom. When Blossom steals away into the night with everyone's money, the good doctor takes on the challenge of running the circus, the Dolittle way. Lofting has fun showing us the details of a utopian traveling circus from the animal's point of view.

By unveiling the cruelty that circus animals endure, Lofting shines a spotlight on a problem that still exists (to a lesser extent) today. At the time that this book was published, circus conditions were truly barbaric, and Lofting has done a great public service without sacrificing a smidgen of the wit and charm that his books are known for.

The Doctor Dolittle books are a magic blend of entertainment, fantasy, morality, and scientific method. Children who are exposed to these elements will be the better for it. And the books are so good that getting the entire series will become a top priority.

I recommend this book as highly as any children's book out there.

As a side note, please don't take the mediocre Eddie Murphy movies as indicative of this series. They have nothing to do with these fine books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Circus One of Dolittle's Best, February 25, 2004

By 

Ashley Lambert-Maberly (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Dolittle's Circus (Hardcover)

The Story of Doctor Dolittle (which began this series) is unfortunately somewhat racist, rather baldly written, but engaging and inventive. The Circus of Doctor Dolittle, a later book in the series, is a vast improvement, keeping all the charm of the original but omitting the flaws.

The plot is more concentrated and has more emotional weight, as Doctor Dolittle becomes entangled with a Circus and attempts to free a performing seal. Their hilarious escape in disguise is one of the most charming incidents in children's fiction.

Really a delightful book, lighthearted, but emotionally involving.

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.