Dr Dolittle In Trouble
By (Author) Hugh Lofting
Penguin Random House Children's UK
Red Fox
15th February 2000
United Kingdom
Children
Fiction
823.912
Paperback
96
Width 126mm, Height 198mm, Spine 6mm
73g
Meet Doctor Dolittle, the only man in the world who can talk to animals. Doctor Dolittle is desperate to write a book about all his animal friends. But his house is so full of animals that he never has a chance to finish all of his jobs and enjoy a moment's peace to write. So, when his friend, Matthew Mugg, suggests a solution to Doctor Dolittle's search for solitude, the Doctor agrees to try it. However, the plan is a little drastic - Matthew's recommendation for peace and quiet is a prison cell. But to find your way in a cell means doing all sorts of naughty things even if your intentions are innocent. Doctor Dolittle will need the help of all his animal friends to get him out of this pickle.
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 Goodall
Hugh Lofting was born in Maidenhead in 1886. As a child he kept a miniature zoo and wildlife museum in his mother's linen cupboard and enjoyed making up stories for his family. He later studied engineering in London and the United States, and visited Canada, Africa and the West Indies. After his marriage in 1912 he settled in the United States. Hugh Lofting fought in the trenches during World War I and it was whilst observing the lack of compassion shown to the horses on the battlefields that the idea for Doctor Dolittle was born. He was the main character in letters Hugh sent home from the front to entertain his children. The successful publication of The Story of Doctor Dolittle in 1920 was followed by a further eleven books. In 1923 Hugh Lofting was awarded the Newbery Medal. He died in 1947.