Doctor Dolittle's Post Office [Hardcover]

HUGH LOFTING (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 359 pages
• Publisher: Jonathan Cape (1951)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000EN0GRK
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,210,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good, although kind of a potpourri, September 29, 2004

By 

spacedog "spacedog7" (boston, ma United States) - See all my reviews

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

this isn't the best doctor dolittle book, but it's a fun read. the book takes place in africa and concentrates on birds. there are several new characters including speedy the swallow and quip, and dab-dab has a slightly bigger role than usual (and cheapside also to some extent). this book features the first appearance of mud-face the turtle and the secret lake, and there's a nice section where each of the main characters tells a story. the beginning is a little slow and some of the scenes seem a bit familiar, but in general it's good fun.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Faster than Anything, February 1, 2008

By 

Paul Camp (Chattanooga, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Dolittle's Post Office (Paperback)

Well, of course, today we live in a world of e-mail, instant text messages, and faxes. But once upon a time, in Hugh Lofting's _Doctor Dolittle's Post Office_ (1923), the good Doctor had a plan to make the mail speedier and more efficient. It was to be the swiftest mail in the world, and it involved (among other things) a flock of gulls, a houseboat, tea parties, licorice flavored stamps, a pifflosaurus, Cheapside the London sparrow, a white peacock, scribbling classes, and the Cape Stephen Lighthouse. There were no computers, cell phones, or fax machines. But I'll bet that you will find that the Doctor's P.O. is a damned sight more fun.

There are a number of antagonists in this book: a ship of slavers, a hot-tempered navy captain, a spy from the Royal Meteorological Bureau, a pistol-packing pearl thief, and a dictatorial Emir. All are human. The animals might be foolish (like Gub-Gub) or cheeky (like Cheapside), or tempermental and vain. But they are rarely villainous. We know the same secret that Doctor Dolittle knows-- that if the world were run by the animals, it would be a better place.

There may be a time when fathers will say, "When _I_ was a boy, _I_ didn't get to teleport to school. _I_ had to ride in a rickety old bus!" Let's hope that even in those speedy times this account of the Doctor's Post Office will still be read and enjoyed.

3.0 out of 5 stars A classic tale, October 11, 2007

By 

Heidi Doreika "library lady" (Oxford, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

Card catalog description
Doctor Dolittle establishes a swallow mail service for the animals when he discovers that they have their own way of writing.

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In this classic tale, Dr. Dolittle expands his horizons. Back when these were popular, you couldn't keep a copy on the Library shelves! One of the many sequels that are worth looking into for a taste of old fashioned childhood fiction!