Customer Reviews

Travels of Doctor Dolittle

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

While it may lose that crown of shame to the Tormont edition of The Brave Little Tailor, this awful rendering of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle is nevertheless sure to disappoint on every level.

The adaption by Al Perkins? Dumb-talk for children, with a confusing message to boot. The book starts with a cliche: "Once upon a time, there was a doctor" and it's all downhill from there. The second sentence insults the intelligence of any reader, regardless of age: "The M.D. meant that he was a doctor and that he knew a lot." (!) Upon Dr. Dolittle's arrival in Africa, readers are exposed to one of the worst misrepresentations ever seen in a children's book: "The Doctor found hundreds and thousands of very sick monkeys. He made all the monkeys come to be vaccinated [Three days later] Doctor Dolittle saw that none of the monkeys were sick any more. They were all well! His vaccinations had cured them all." I am fairly certain that even in 1920, vaccinations provided immunity against future disease rather than curing an existing ailment. The illustrations by Philip Wende? Creepy. The monkeys look like aliens or possibly Australopithecus.

Compared to modern children's literature, the message here is heavy-handed and politically incorrect. The African savages are violent and dumb. The King sleeps in a bed decorated with skulls. Fearful of the unknown, he imprisons Dr. Dolittle as a medicine-man along with his band of animals. Even more fearful of being cursed--with mumps, no less! Who subsidized this printing, the CDC?--the king is tricked into freeing them. Score one for the colonial powers! The story in its original form, like those featuring that other simian Curious George, will set off a modern PC Geiger counter. And this version doesn't even include the infamous white-face incident from the original Story of Doctor Dolittle! Finally, and just like the Man with the Yellow Hat, Dr. Dolittle brings home a souvenir from the old country in the form of a live pet.

In summary, even if you like the original story in all its early 20th century glory, this version will disappoint. Everyone else will be disgusted straightaway. Worst of all, this book (as published in 1967) carries the Random House seal of approval in the form of the Cat in the Hat-emblazoned "Beginner Books" imprint, leading some to believe this book might have been worth having. It wasn't then and it isn't now.

[Hugh Lofting's Travels of Doctor Dolittle (Adapted for Beginning Readers) is inexplicably offered in at least four Product Listings here on Amazon. Please excuse the cross-post until Amazon hopefully cleans this up.]

P.S. to Amazon: The correct spelling is Dolittle (one "o").

While it may lose that crown of shame to the Tormont edition of The Brave Little Tailor, this awful rendering of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle is nevertheless sure to disappoint on every level.

The adaption by Al Perkins? Dumb-talk for children, with a confusing message to boot. The book starts with a cliche: "Once upon a time, there was a doctor" and it's all downhill from there. The second sentence insults the intelligence of any reader, regardless of age: "The M.D. meant that he was a doctor and that he knew a lot." (!) Upon Dr. Dolittle's arrival in Africa, readers are exposed to one of the worst misrepresentations ever seen in a children's book: "The Doctor found hundreds and thousands of very sick monkeys. He made all the monkeys come to be vaccinated [Three days later] Doctor Dolittle saw that none of the monkeys were sick any more. They were all well! His vaccinations had cured them all." I am fairly certain that even in 1920, vaccinations provided immunity against future disease rather than curing an existing ailment. The illustrations by Philip Wende? Creepy. The monkeys look like aliens or possibly Australopithecus.

Compared to modern children's literature, the message here is heavy-handed and politically incorrect. The African savages are violent and dumb. The King sleeps in a bed decorated with skulls. Fearful of the unknown, he imprisons Dr. Dolittle as a medicine-man along with his band of animals. Even more fearful of being cursed--with mumps, no less! Who subsidized this printing, the CDC?--the king is tricked into freeing them. Score one for the colonial powers! The story in its original form, like those featuring that other simian Curious George, will set off a modern PC Geiger counter. And this version doesn't even include the infamous white-face incident from the original Story of Doctor Dolittle! Finally, and just like the Man with the Yellow Hat, Dr. Dolittle brings home a souvenir from the old country in the form of a live pet.

In summary, even if you like the original story in all its early 20th century glory, this version will disappoint. Everyone else will be disgusted straightaway. Worst of all, this book (as published in 1967) carries the Random House seal of approval in the form of the Cat in the Hat-emblazoned "Beginner Books" imprint, leading some to believe this book might have been worth having. It wasn't then and it isn't now.

[Hugh Lofting's Travels of Doctor Dolittle (Adapted for Beginning Readers) is inexplicably offered in at least four Product Listings here on Amazon. Please excuse the cross-post until Amazon hopefully cleans this up.]

P.S. to Amazon: The correct spelling is Dolittle (one "o").

I love this book. I really enjoyed it as a young child. I love the two headed goat, the bridge of monkeys, and Dr. Dolittle's repoire with the animals.