The Story of Doctor Dolittle

I presume anyone reading the reviews already is familiar with the storyline of Dr. Dolittle. I highly recommend this version with only a slight reservation (see below) because its illustration and editing would make an excellent introduction to children as well as a gift possibility and a lifelong keepsake. I heartily disagree with the reviewer who discredits this edition because it has been updated to modern civilities. The reviewer mistakenly suggests that the edition conceals that changes have been made. To the contrary, the foreword fully describes the editors' concerns for literary sensitivities as they made changes. If your purpose is to collect unabridged books, do shop elsewhere. But if you share my intent of introducing this wonderful story to children, this book serves the purpose very well. There is minimal distraction from unnecessary anachronisms. I think this edition would serve children well through elementary school. I would nominate unabridged editions for older children to help teach them about society's changing attitudes towards racism. My slight reservation (mentioned above) about this edition is that racial stereotypes do persist. In Africa, the (white) doctor is referred as "the good man" while the African king is unjust, his son is goofy, and both the king and his son are easily fooled. These characterizations ARE unavoidable without drastically changing the storyline. However, the story explains the motivation for the king's injustice and is a worthy point of discussion with a young reader.

On a scale from one - ten, TheGolda Meir Junior GreatBooks Club unanimously ratesthis a ten. This book involveshumor, real life problems,talkinganimals, funny names,a caringand kind animal doctor,caringanimals,suspense,adventure andinteresting animals. We had funreading aloud and laughed oftenand acted out some of thecharacters. All around we thinkthat this is a great book. Wethink you will laugh out loud evenif you're reading by yourself.

My family and I have listened to this performance by Alan Bennett at least 4 times in the past year. When we first listened to it, my youngest was only 5 and yet was able to follow the entire story thanks to Mr. Bennett's wonderful voice characterisations. We just finished listening to it today for the 4th time and have never tired of it. We now enjoy catching the little things we missed the first few times. As a result of this, we look for Mr. Bennett's readings often and have enjoyed his rendition of Winnie the Pooh, too!

Martin Short brings pure magic to the Airplay Audio Cassette The Story of Doctor Dolittle. My kids and I laughed and listened, over and over again. Martin Short creates a distinct voice for every animal, and the humans, too. Another important aspect is Airplay's version is unabridged, but all the dated prejudices have been dumped in favor of a much more engaging encounter with poor Prince Bumpo, this is a children's story everyone can enjoy.

I read "The Story of Doctor Dolittle" for the first time when I was seven. Recently I read the new edition illustrated by Michael Hague. This new edition is terrific. The revisions are obvious to one who read the original work, but they are sensible and reflect Lofting's intentions while reflecting modern thought. Hague's illustrations are beautiful. I would still recommend that older children and adults read the original, to learn a bit about Lofting's time and because the author's illustrations are wonderfully simplistic. This is also a good read-aloud for younger children, because many, when they are able to read it for themselves, will unfortunately have lost interest in such a fanciful story.