Doctor Dolittle

The origins of the remarkable Doctor Dolittle are revealed in this delightful, updated audiobook! This classic story with an updated magical twist is sure to be a family favorite! When Doctor John Dolittle’s love of animals scares away his human patients, he finds himself on the verge of bankruptcy. Luckily, his parrot, Polynesia, has a solution - she teaches him to talk to animals. Using his new skill, Doctor Dolittle becomes a veterinarian, and his reputation soon spreads in the animal kingdom. With it, come requests for help from animals all over the world.

Hugh Lofting's wonderfully whimsical story of a doctor whose love of animals allows him to learn their language and becomes a splendid "animal doctor"... with their help. And he even goes all the way to Africa to cure the sick monkeys...it's charming!

You’ve seen the movies, now listen to the original tale of John Dolittle, MD, the Doctor who could talk to animals! Join Doctor Dolittle, Polynesia the parrot, Jip the dog, Dab-Dab the duck, Chee-Chee the monkey, and more as they embark on a perilous and wonderful adventure to save the monkeys in Africa from a deadly disease! Cheer them on as they battle pirates and a ruthless king!

Doctor Dolittle, a little, lovable, old doctor, has so many animal pets spread throughout his house and garden that patients will not come to him anymore. As a result, he becomes poorer and poorer. But he occupies nearly all of his time as the animals' doctor, and soon discovers that he can talk to the animals; Jip the dog, Dab Dab the duck, and Polynesia the parrot.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts (1920), written by Hugh Lofting, is the first of his Doctor Dolittle books, a series of children's novels about a man who learns to talk to animals and becomes their champion around the world. It was one of the novels in the series which was adapted into the film, Doctor Dolittle.

Here is Hugh Lofting's classic tale of the English doctor who learns how to speak to his non-human patients—dogs, cats, rhinos, and monkeys alike—as he travels from England to the jungles of Africa and back again. Doctor Dolittle's entourage of animal friends, including Polynesia the parrot, Gub-Gub the pig, Jip the dog, and Dab-Dab the duck, journey with the doctor and team up to help him out of one scrape after another.  

The good Doctor Dolittle, accompanied by his devoted animal friends, sets sail once again. This time it is a voyage of discovery, to learn the secret of the Shellfish language, and to teach Tommy Stubbins, the Doctor's young protege, all there is to know about animals and their languages. Choosing their destination by opening an atlas, closing their eyes, and touching the page with a pencil, they set off on the most amazing voyage.

In this follow-up to the first of Hugh the series though, Lofting assigns the starring role to Tommy Stubbins who is now an "old man". He recalls how he met Doctor John Dolittle and the many adventures they shared. The Doctor is working on learning the language of the Shellfish and their adventures take them from a trial for murder to adventures on the high seas, culminating in their arrival on Spidermonkey Island. Then comes a war between the native tribes, Dolittle being crowned King, the arrival of the Great Glass Sea-Snail and their eventual return to Puddleby-on-the-Marsh.

Doctor Dolittle returns from his voyages and sets his house in order. This includes expanding his zoo to include a home for crossbred dogs and a club for rodents. Doctor Dolittle's Zoo is different from all others because there are no cages; the animals stay there voluntarily and are free to leave whenever they want.