The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle [Hardcover]

Hugh Lofting (Author), Michael Hague (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2001 | Age Level: 8 and up | Series: Books of Wonder

Doctor John Dolittle, the veterinarian who can actually talk to animals, sets sail on the high seas for new adventures! Accompanied by his young friend Tommy Stubbins and the beloved animals of his household -- Polynesia the parrot, Jip the dog, and Chee-Chee the monkey -- the good doctor is off to forbidding Spider Monkey Island to examine the rare jabizri beetle. But the mysterious island holds another, darker secret: The famous Indian naturalist, Long Arrow, has mysteriously disappeared -- and Doctor Dolittle urgently needs to speak with him.

Doctor Dolittle and his friends brave a shipwreck, find the floating island, and meet the incredible Great Glass Sea Snail -- the keeper of the greatest mystery of all. This is the most popular of the twelve Doctor Dolittle novels. The next has been carefully edited for modern readers by renowned children's book authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. This new edition, featuring color illustrations by best-selling artist Michael Hague, is sure to bring a whole new generation under the spell of Doctor Dolittle and his animal friends.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hugh Lofting (1886-1947) began what became the Doctor Dolittle stories while writing letters to his children from the front during World War I. The Story of Doctor Dolittle, first published in 1920, was followed by The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, which was awarded the Newbery Medal, and ten more popular books in the series.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (November 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688140025
• ISBN-13: 978-0688140021
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #979,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars sanitised edition, December 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (Hardcover)

I do agree that books containing racist positions should not be given to children without a strong and fully aware comment. But I simply cannot stand to buy a sanitised version of a book without being aware of it. This is called censorship, and it gives me the creeps. As a parent, I have had enough real life opportunities to prove racism wrong to my children. So to realise that somebody has been cheating on me, trying to do my job so that I did not have to explain how society has evolved, how difficult it has been for minorities to be recognised and respected is just a fraud. this review is about the Harper collins Edition , edited by Patricia C. and Frederick L. McKissak, illustrated by Michael Hague.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary update, February 7, 2007

By 

bb_g "bb_g" (san francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (Hardcover)

Got this book out of the library, and my young daughter was mesmerized by the extraordinary illustrations, as well as being fascinated by the good doctor, and his ability to speak to his various and highly characterized animal friends.

While it's not the original, I wouldn't have been able to read her the original (not on shelves around the libraries where I live). So, this was a really great way to introduce her.

Since she liked this one so much, she's checked out at least 7 other Dolittle books, so I'm quite grateful to Books of Wonder that they re-did this one and the Story of Dr. Dolittle with the Michael Hague illustrations; they opened a whole world to my daughter, and she can read through a couple of pages at a time herself now that she's 8. Also, we read aloud as the bedtime story, and there's plenty to talk about as far as different time, era, animal behavior, friendship etc. I'd never seen any Hague illustrations before and I was bowled over by them myself. I'm ordering off Amazon as a gift book

As far as the editing/censorship, there's still plenty to talk about in adventures taking place in a different time and place.

5.0 out of 5 stars a must read, February 13, 2009

By 

smile at even the worst catastrophes - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (Hardcover)

This book was amazing! wow! This book is one of thoses read-in-bed-with-a-flashlight kind of books, which is exactly what i did. The talking animals in this book are fasinating and wonderful. Even though this book was writen so long ago i think children now can still enjoy such a great book. I think it is like one of those daydreams i used to float through as a child. Practically perfect in every way!