Great kids book, read it in 4th or 5th grade and still remember it well.

Some parts were better than others. I really enjoyed the section on the island, but other parts were quite slow. For an adventure book, that surprised me.

This is the second of Lofting’s books about the doctor, but is apparently much more ambitious than the first, and pitched to an older audience. (This is also one of the three books – along with The Story of DD, and DD’s Circus – that were merged into one story for the 1967 movie.) It has a great deal of old-fashioned charm, particularly in its description of Dolittle’s home life with all his animals. The plotline is all over the place, as meandering as their travels, but full of adventure and excitement.

The main character is quite inspirational in his dedication to learning and science, and his love and empathy for all creatures, large or small. In these aspects Dolittle is quite modern, though strangely enough he is not vegetarian, which would seem like a no-brainer today! Eating bacon when in the company of pigs, in fact having it cooked for him by a pig may strike some modern readers as pretty shocking. Presumably in 1920s England it didn’t seem possible for even an animal-lover to give up sausages.

The whimsy of the story makes it good for young children, though it might be too difficult for them to read for themselves. This would be a good book to read aloud to seven-year-olds. There are moments of violence, especially in the chapter about the war. Dolittle states mildly that wars are a bad business, but when push comes to shove he picks up a club and fights. The war is not described in much detail, but Long Arrow does get a spear in the chest (he survives). Read ahead to decide if anything is too intense for your child.

The main reason you might hesitate to read this to young children would be the general attitude of white superiority. It’s inevitable that a book written in 1922 and including encounters with other races would include outdated and derogatory language. I read the 1988 Dell edition, which removed some of the worst bits. As Christopher Lofting puts it in this edition’s Afterward, “there were certain incidents depicted that, in light of today’s sensitivities, were considered by some to be disrespectful to ethnic minorities and, therefore, perhaps inappropriate for today’s young reader.” The problem was whether or not one should meddle with a classic at all, and raise the spectre of censorship, but in the end the changes were “minor enough not to interfere with the style and spirit of the original”, and Lofting asserts that had the author still been alive he himself would have been more than eager to make the changes. (If you are interested in the details of these changes, they have been laid out nicely in this blog post by Mark Dominus from 2006.)

There are still many traces of imperial thinking that remain: namely the entrenched assumption of white superiority in intellect, breeding and morals that is difficult to purge entirely from a book like this. It is most apparent when Dolittle rules over the Popsipetel tribe, who are so backward and helpless that they fairly clamor for his help and revere him like a god. Even so, Lofting does seem to be pretty fair-minded for the time. Even though Bumpo is a figure of some ridicule, with his malapropisms and enormous bare feet, he is also a brave and trustworthy friend. Likewise, Long Arrow is a brilliant naturalist who Dolittle admires greatly. There are also several villainous white characters encountered along the way, to balance the scales somewhat.

When all is said and done, this is a classic children’s novel, but also a product of its time. If you include a little context and explanation it could provoke a great discussion with readers in the nine to ten-year-old range.

The next in my reads of the Newbery winners, this book was okay. It wasn't boring like some, but it was kind of random. I like the Doctor for the most part; his view of animals and natural sciences is refreshing for the time. However, the white savior and colonialism got to be too much near the end. And the racism of both Bumpo and Long Arrow was galling, especially Bumpo's constant mispronunciations. And personally, I kind of hate Polynesia the Parrot.

It was part of my reading challenge and I chose it based on cover (different one though) so I had no idea about plot. Turns out it is book for children. Still enjoyable.

Loved this book as a kid, still love it now & want to keep reading the series. If only I had time. Reminds me a LOT of the Twenty-One Balloons!

(Read this for my Newbery class.)

As a sequel, I really appreciated that Lofting took the time to introduce us to his new character, Stubbins, before bringing us back to the Doctor. I read the first book when I was a kid, but honestly, didn't even remember it (or that this book WAS a sequel) until I did some research on the first 8 Newbery winners. (Felt kind of stupid, there.) The strength of this for people who have read the books in order is that Stubbins becomes a much more viable character to them - the book no longer is just about John Dolittle, it's about his relationship with Tommy Stubbins. The introduction of Stubbins' character tells children of all ages, myself included, that it's possible to discover & follow dreams you never even knew you had. Of course, there are some tell-tale signs of the times in which the book was written - the monkey being able to pass as a black man and safely travel, the black man traveling with them as a chef, the Red Indians being unable to care for themselves properly and requiring the assistance of John Dolittle, the powerful, civilized, strong savior White Man. But really... this was an awesome book to read. If I had the time, I would go back and read all the adventures of John Dolittle. Maybe I'll make it a monthly project - read one Dolittle! A coworker of mine absolutely LOVES everything Dolittle, and is adamant that the editions should not be made PC because they are indicative of the time in which Lofting wrote them. As she says, "[the prince Bumpo] is well educated, which for his era was unheard of and considered fantasy - a black African getting a European education like he was a human or something." The book keeps it's weight & merit today mostly as a read-aloud - because of the potential issues with the political correctness, I think it'd be better for a kid to read it aloud with a grown-up.

The origin of the Dolittle absolutely amazing - the letters Lofting wrote to his children in lieu of writing them horror stories from the war... then the kids demanding pictures to accompany the adventures. Information about this creation should be included in all the volumes - I think kids would love to know about it!

Membaca buku kedua dari seri Dokter Dolittle dan aku baru sadar ini ternyata buku anak-anak, wkwk.

Aku suka cara Hugh Lofting bercerita disini, beneran kayak didongengin. Meski ini buku anak-anak, banyak isu yang diangkat disini, terutama bagaimana manusia merusak alam dan bertindak semena-mena terhadap makhluk hidup lainnya.

Buku ini dari POV Tommy Stubbins, asisten Dokter Dolittle yang usianya baru 11 tahun. Meski ia tidak sekolah, tapi ia sebenarnya rajin, pintar dan punya rasa keingintahuan besar. Dokter, Tommy dan hewan lainnya yaitu Polynesia, Che-Che dan Jib, beserta Bumpo kenalan dari Afrika berangkat menjelajahi Pulau Monyet Laba-Laba, tempat naturalis Panah Panjang terakhir terlihat.

Disini petualangan dimulai! Mulai dari kapal karam, bertemu dengan ikan buntal yang bisa bahasa inggris dan sampai akhirnya mendarat di pulau tujuan. Dan tentu cerita mereka sangat panjang ketika di pulai ini. Mulai dari penyelamatan Panah Panjang dan Suku Indian, pengajaran ilmu alam, penobatan raja hingga pertemuannya dengan Siput Raksasa.

Ah rasanya ingin membaca seri selanjutnya dari buku ini!

I liked it but didn't love it. It was overly long and although the racism has been edited for modern sensibilities or whatever, it still has quite a bit of racist content. I liked the giant snail at the end, and Polynesia is an awesome character.