One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
I have no idea where I picked up this little copy of The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting but isn’t it cute??
The wise Doctor Doolittle likes animals more than people. When his human practice fails, he gets some good advice from an unexpected avenue and his life changes forever!
I have always enjoyed the old movie of Dr Doolittle (1967) so I was excited to pick it up. I had no previous inkling about the source material of the movie, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. It’s definitely a childrens book, with simple writing and language. It’s also definitely of it’s era, with lots of outdated ideas and language. Reading this book today, it’s quite racist and sexist. It follows the movie pretty closely, minus the human companions and love story and (thank goodness) the singing, where the Good Doctor travels around the world after learning all the animal languages. I liked that all the animal had personality, but some of those were even also a little (animal) “racist” or prejudice (ex: the pig is depicted as a lowly, whiney character). There were also a few outdated ideas that struck me as not making sense with the story. For instance when the animals are traveling, they all eat fish. I mean, how could they speak the fish’s language, but still eat them?! It was obviously written in a time when being vegetarian was virtually unheard of, even if you love animals. All that being said, I was happy to read this book. This tiny pocket sized book was enjoyable to read and as I said before, it’s to cute! I always find it interesting to read the original version of children’s stories that are well known. I find that they are never exactly like the more modern versions that I am most familiar with (Peter Pan is a good example of this and well worth a read). Sometimes they are better, or more interesting, sometimes you see why certain changes were made. I would recommend this book to those who read children’s classics, those who like the 1967 movie, or those who like children’s books in general. And of course, all who wish they, too, could speak to the animals.
This review is part Tuesday of my Week of Books. Check out my new YouTube/BookTube Channel: Mad Cat Quilts for more book content (plus cats, garden, sewing, eating, asmr, etc…!).