The Story of Doctor Dolittle [Paperback]

In this first book in the series, Doctor Dolittle discovers that he can talk to the animals--Jip the dog, Dab Dab the duck, Polynesia the parrot."Any child who is not given the opportunity to make the acquaintance of this rotund, kindly, and enthusiastic doctor/naturalist and all of his animal friends will miss out on something important."--Jane GoodallHugh Loftingwas born in 1886 in Maidenhead, Berkshire. His Doctor Dolittle books first appeared on paper in the form of letters to his children, Elizabeth and Colin. Lofting wrote a number of children's books besides the Dolittle series, including The Story of Mrs. Tubbs (1923), Tommy, Tilly and Mrs. Tubbs (1936), Porridge Poetry (1924), The Twilight of Magic (1930), and Gub Gub's Book (1932). Lofting also wrote one book for adults, Victory for the Slain (1942). He died in 1947 in Santa Monica, California.He was poorer than he had ever been before. But the Doctor refused to worry.

"Money is a nuisance," he said. "We'd all be much better off if it had never been invented. Who cares about money as long as we are happy?"

But soon even the animals began to worry. One night, as the Doctor snored in his chair before the kitchen fire, they whispered among themselves about what to do.

The owl, Too-Too, who was good at arithmetic, figured that there was only enough money to last one week--if they each had only one meal a day.

"I think we should do the housework ourselves," Polynesia suggested. "After all, it's because of us that the Doctor is so lonely and poor."

They agreed that Chee-Chee, the monkey, would do the cooking and mending; Jip, the dog, would sweep the floors; Dab-Dab, the duck, would dust and make the beds; Too-Too, the owl, would keep the accounts; and Gub-Gub, the pig, would do the gardening. lC%