The Story of Doctor Dolittle

The magic begins with a simple question: what if a doctor could speak to his patients? John Dolittle loves animals more than people, so when he discovers that his parrot Polynesia can teach him animal languages, he abandons his human practice entirely. Soon his house in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh overflows with creatures of every shape and size. When word reaches him that the monkeys of Africa are dying from a terrible plague, Dolittle sets sail with his loyal animal crew to save them. What follows is a series of daring rescues, narrow escapes, and boundless adventure that made this book a cornerstone of children's literature. Hugh Lofting wrote these stories for his own children during World War I, and that intimate warmth radiates from every page. More than a century later, Doctor Dolittle remains a testament to the radical idea that compassion requires no translation.