Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
2.5. Cute with great narration by Nadia May. I'm excited for the sequel.
Creative, good-spirited, and full of delightful animals, this book entertained me and my four year old, one chapter at a time, for a few weeks.
Immaginativo, originale, e pieno di animali spiritosi, questo libro ci ha divertito (io e mio figlio di 4 anni) per un paio di settimane. L’idea di poter parlare la lingua degli animali non può che affascinare un cervello crescente.
Immaginativo, originale, e pieno di animali spiritosi, questo libro ci ha divertito (io e mio figlio di 4 anni) per un paio di settimane. L’idea di poter parlare la lingua degli animali non può che affascinare un cervello crescente.
It was a really cute story and I really enjoyed it. I subtracted a star from my rating because of the racism.
Listened to the version on librivox read by Karen Savage.
I did enjoy this, more towards the end. It is unfortunately very dated in its cringe-worthy descriptions of anyone not English.
I liked that the doctor was non-violent. I loved the descriptions of the animals hearing or smelling things far away.
I think I would have enjoyed this as a child more, but it is always hard to review something reading it as an adult for the first time.
I did enjoy this, more towards the end. It is unfortunately very dated in its cringe-worthy descriptions of anyone not English.
I liked that the doctor was non-violent. I loved the descriptions of the animals hearing or smelling things far away.
"Almost everything makes SOME noise--if your ears are only sharp enough to catch it. Bats can hear a mole walking in his tunnel under the earth --and they think they're good hearers. But we owls can tell you, using only one ear, the color of a kitten from the way it winks in the dark."
I think I would have enjoyed this as a child more, but it is always hard to review something reading it as an adult for the first time.
The story of Dr. Dolittle and how he changed from being a people doctor to learning to speak with animals and be an animal doctor. He receives a message from Africa about a terrible sickness spreading among the monkeys. So, he borrows a ship and sails with most of his animals to Africa to cure the monkeys. He has many adventures with people who don't understand what he is trying to do. and his meeting with the pushmi-pullyu is interesting. And his adventures continue during his return home to repay the people who loaned him goods and money for his voyage.
I remember I liked the characters (especially the dog) when I first read it, but... woof, the racism is hard to stomach.
Too irreverent for me. It's a story of an insufferable doctor who learns ALL animal languages from a parrot (yet he's the only one, even though there's no particular reason why no one else ever learned from parrots, nevermind why parrots are language omnipotent). No animal has a behavioral resemblance to there own kind--which exaggerates to an awkward level in um...non-British humans...
Once he has enough exotic animals living with him, the locals start staying away and not paying him for veterinary services, so the animals go full-Disney and do all the chores. Monkeys in Africa get sick of some rampant disease, so the Doctor and the main cast of animals travel to Africa, where blacks want to be white, have British political systems, and some other things that make me laugh because surely a lot of reviews would be raging about inappropriate racial and cultural implications...to put it politely. But fortunately for the progression of the story, humans are incredibly dumbed down, so the Doctor and the animals get away with a lot.
It's like reading Swiss Family Robinson. I couldn't find any ground to root my beliefs. Fantasy and children's fiction, when written well, are still internally believable enough for adults to enjoy, but sometimes it just doesn't work. For me, this really didn't work.
Once he has enough exotic animals living with him, the locals start staying away and not paying him for veterinary services, so the animals go full-Disney and do all the chores. Monkeys in Africa get sick of some rampant disease, so the Doctor and the main cast of animals travel to Africa, where blacks want to be white, have British political systems, and some other things that make me laugh because surely a lot of reviews would be raging about inappropriate racial and cultural implications...to put it politely. But fortunately for the progression of the story, humans are incredibly dumbed down, so the Doctor and the animals get away with a lot.
It's like reading Swiss Family Robinson. I couldn't find any ground to root my beliefs. Fantasy and children's fiction, when written well, are still internally believable enough for adults to enjoy, but sometimes it just doesn't work. For me, this really didn't work.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is steeped in the love for animals. The things the animals say made my son laugh. I hope this is the beginning of a great voyage through the many Dolittle books.
It was a good children's story, if you can stomach all the racism. I really was not expecting that, and was completely taken aback. If I decide to share the story with my child(ren) in the future, I will find one of the edited versions that I now know are out there. I don't expect children's stories to contain words like "nigger," "darkies," or "coon" (unless referring to raccoons) used in that context, regardless of when they were written.