The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

Goodreads Synopsis:    Doctor John Dolittle, the veterinarian who can actually talk to animals, sets sail on the high seas for new adventures! Accompanied by his young friend Tommy Stubbins and the beloved animals of his household -- Polynesia the parrot, Jip the dog, and Chee-Chee the monkey -- the good doctor is off to forbidding Spider Monkey Island to examine the rare jabizri beetle. But the mysterious island holds another, darker secret: The famous Indian naturalist, Long Arrow, has mysteriously disappeared -- and Doctor Dolittle urgently needs to speak with him.

Doctor Dolittle and his friends brave a shipwreck, find the floating island, and meet the incredible Great Glass Sea Snail -- the keeper of the greatest mystery of all. This is the most popular of the twelve Doctor Dolittle novels. The next has been carefully edited for modern readers by renowned children's book authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. This new edition, featuring color illustrations by best-selling artist Michael Hague, is sure to bring a whole new generation under the spell of Doctor Dolittle and his animal friends.

My Thoughts:

-    This was my first Newberry Award Winner this year! Woo!

-    I really liked that the story was told from a little boy's perspective. I loved Tommy's fascination with everything going on around him.

-    The book was fun, but it was very dry. It held my interest, but you can tell it is an older book.

-    I liked all the different people and animals we meet throughout the story. 

-    I really like Doctor Dolittle. He is very kind and generous to everyone he meets. His courtesy extends to animals and humans no matter size, shape, color, etc. 

-    I won't be continuing with the series, but I'm glad I read the first two books. 

Previous Book

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

From Goodreads:    Foreword by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack. Afterword by Peter Glassman.When a swallow arrives in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh with the news that the monkeys of Africa are ill and only the doctor who talks with animals can save them, Doctor Dolittle and such good friends as Jip, his loyal dog, and Dab-Dab, his housekeeper duck, face their greatest challenge. Together they must sail to Africa, battle a band of cutthroat pirates, flee across a gorge on a bridge made of acrobatic apes, and convince the king of the beasts that even he must help an animal in need. With nearly fifty full-page pictures from Michael Hague and the McKissacks artful reworking of the dilemma faced by Prince Bumpo, this treasured story is now available in a deluxe edition that all families will want to explore again and again.

My Thoughts:

-    This was a fun and short book. It is an older book, so I'm glad things got right to the point without all the fluff in between. 

-    I really enjoyed the characters, especially the animals. I also liked that the animals came up with solutions to problems, and that they weren't dumb animals. They had personalities and brains. 

-    I liked all the illustrations. They were fun.

-    This was a good intro into the series.