The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (Iwanami Shoten, Publishers. 1960)
*first published in 1922
Author: Hugh John Lofting
Illustrator: Hugh John Lofting
Translator: Masuji Ibuse
I read the books of Doctor Dolittle when I was in elementary school.
I knew Dr. Dolittle at first because I saw a movie on NHK when I was in kindergarten.
I think that movie was “Doctor Dolittle” (1967). In the movie, Dr. Dolittle, wearing a silk hat, was talking to a horse with a gesture of moving his legs. So, when I was taken to a horse farm in Miyazaki, I tried the same gesture on a horse, and the horse moved its front legs just as I had seen in the movie. I was overjoyed that I could talk to a horse and made a fuss.
When I read the book now, I find that Ibuse Masuji’s translation is very vivid and draws me into the world of Dr. Dolittle. I was again surprised at the high quality of the writing. I was also unaware of the efforts that Momoko Ishii had made to publish the books.
Dr. Doolittle protects animals and gets protection from them.
The animals with their own personalities, such as Gabugabu, London Sparrow Cheepsite, Dabudabu, Polynesia, and Zip, are also wonderful.
For kids, the Mutsugoro’s Animal Kingdom was like that, and the Dr. Dolittle series surrounded by animals, was a world I longed to live in.
(finish reading: 6/5/2024）
