The Story of Doctor Dolittle

The story

Doctor John Dolittle has so many animals in his house that his human patients stop coming. When his parrot Polynesia teaches him the language of animals, he becomes the greatest animal doctor in the world.

News of a terrible sickness among the monkeys of Africa sends the Doctor and his animal friends on a voyage full of shipwrecks, pirates and a creature with a head at each end: the pushmi-pullyu.

Themes: kindness to animals, language learning itself, travel, friendship.

Why it's a good book for language learners

This is a gentle first classic. Sentences are short, the vocabulary is concrete, and the story is literally about learning a new language — Polynesia teaches the Doctor word by word, which makes a lovely model for learners. Note that some passages reflect the attitudes of the 1920s; modern editions have revised them.

What you'll practise

• Animals and their sounds
• Simple past and time words (then, next, after that)
• Giving instructions and advice
• Travel and ship vocabulary

Did you know?

Hugh Lofting first told the Dolittle stories in illustrated letters to his children while serving as a soldier in the First World War.

The PageWalker adventure

In the adventure you sail with the Doctor's crew, and your choices decide whether you reach the monkeys in time. The first page is free to play in your browser, and the adventure is available in 13 languages with click-to-translate.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle in other languages

• EnglishThe Story of Doctor Dolittle
• العربيةقصة الدكتور دوليتل
• DeutschDoktor Dolittle und seine Tiere
• EspañolLa Historia del Doctor Dolittle
• FrançaisL'Histoire du Docteur Dolittle
• हिन्दीडॉक्टर डूलिटिल की कहानी
• ItalianoLa storia del dottor Dolittle
• 日本語ドリトル先生アフリカゆき
• 한국어둘리틀 선생 이야기
• PortuguêsA História do Doutor Dolittle
• РусскийИстория доктора Дулиттла
• TürkçeDoktor Dolittle'ın Hikayesi
• 简体中文杜立德医生的故事