The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

I was so confused while reading most of this book, because I definitely had strong memories of reading a book about Doctor Dolittle as a kid, and some of the things in this book rang some bells in my head, but I definitely didn't remember this story. I didn't realize until afterwards that the book that we had when I was younger was The Stories of Dr. Dolittle, the prequel to this one. This one was written a few years after, but had a few references to things from that book--I strongly remembered the "pushmi-pullyu," a two-headed animal he discovered in Africa, and the parrot Polynesia and the gorilla Chee-Chee. This book was different because it was narrated by a nine-year-old boy who becomes the doctor's assistant and goes on a journey to Brazil with him, where they visit a floating island and become a part of a tribe living there for a few months. As a kid, I think the most appealing part of this story is Dr. Dolittle's ability to talk the languages of the animals. That is definitely true in this book as well; the animals become major characters in the story and have strong personalities. However, reading this book as an adult, it's hard to ignore the imperialism and the negative attitudes towards people of other races and countries. Dr. Dolittle becomes this white savior for the natives living on this floating island--he teaches them how to make fire and they make him their king because they think he is so amazing... it's a little hard to swallow in today's day and age. I don't know that this is one I would read to my kids; I feel like it would take a lot of explanation to make me feel good about it. But that's what happens with books that are 100 years old.