The classic children’s tale of a man who could walk with the animals, talk with the animals, grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals . . .
John Dolittle was not your average doctor. He was known as a quiet, capable physician who lived a simple life in a simple house with his sister. His true love was for animals. He even kept a menagerie of wildlife in his very home, which ended up scaring away his two-legged human clientele.
But after his parrot, Polynesia, teaches him the secret to speaking with animals, Dolittle finds a new calling as a veterinarian. He uses his gift to understand, help, and heal the furred and feathered of the world. As his fame spreads, he’s soon called upon to travel far from his small English village to the jungles of Africa, where an epidemic is threatening the entire monkey kingdom. It seems only Doctor Dolittle can save the day.
Hugh Lofting (1886–1947) was a British children’s author, best known for his Doctor Dolittle series. Lofting began his career as a civil engineer before enlisting in the British Army to serve in the First World War. While at war, he began writing letters to his children, which soon became the stories of Doctor Dolittle. After being seriously wounded in the war and returning home, Lofting published his first book, The Story of Doctor Dolittle in 1920. Its sequel, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle won the Newbery Medal. The series spawned an additional eight sequels and has been adapted into numerous film and stage adaptations. In addition to children’s books, Lofting also wrote Victory for the Slain, a long poem that described the futility of the First World War.