What do you think?
Rate this book
Doctor Dolittle #11
Доктор Дулитъл и зеленото канарче
Although much of the material had been printed originally in 1924 for the Herald Tribune Syndicate, Lofting planned to complete the story in book form but never finished before he died. Lofting's wife's sister, Olga Michael, completed the book and it was published posthumously in 1950. Everything except the first and last chapter are by Lofting. Much of the material in this book is repeated from the earlier novel Doctor Dolittle's Caravan and tells the story of the Doctor's friend Pippinella the Green Canary, in slightly greater depth.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
8 people are currently reading
522 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Lofting
386 books185 followersHugh Lofting was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle — one of the classics of children's literature.
Lofting was born in Maidenhead, England, to English and Irish parents. His early education was at Mount St Mary's College in Sheffield, after which he went to the United States, completing a degree in civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He traveled widely as a civil engineer before enlisting in the Irish Guards to serve in World War I. Not wishing to write to his children of the brutality of the war, he wrote imaginative letters that were the foundation of the successful Doctor Dolittle novels for children. Seriously wounded in the war, he moved with his family to Connecticut in the United States. Lofting was married three times and had three children, one of whom, his son Christopher, is the executor of his literary estate.
"For years it was a constant source of shock to me to find my writings amongst 'juveniles,'" Lofting reported. "It does not bother me any more now, but I still feel there should be a category of 'seniles' to offset the epithet."
Doctor Dolittle
Hugh Lofting's doctor from Puddleby-on-the-Marsh who could speak to animals first saw light in the author's illustrated letters to children, written from the trenches during World War I when actual news, he later said, was either too horrible or too dull. The stories are set in early Victorian England, (in and around the 1840s, according to a date given in The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle). The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts Never Before Printed (1920) began the series and won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958.The sequel, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922), won Lofting the prestigious Newbery Medal. Eight more books followed, and after Lofting's death two more volumes, composed of short unpublished pieces, appeared. The series has been adapted for film and television many times, for stage twice, and for radio.
Other Works for Children
The Story of Mrs Tubbs (1923) and Tommy, Tilly, and Mrs. Tubbs (1936) are picture books aimed at a younger audience than the Doctor Dolittle books. They concern the titular old woman, her pets (with whom she can speak) and the animals who help her out of trouble.
Porridge Poetry (1924) is the only non-Dolittle work by Lofting still in print. It is a lighthearted, colorfully illustrated book of poems for children.
Noisy Nora (1929) is a cautionary tale about a girl who is a noisy eater. The book is printed as if hand-written, and the many illustrations often merge with the text.
The Twilight of Magic (1930) is aimed at older readers. It is set in an age when magic is dying and science is beginning. This work is the only one of Lofting's books to be illustrated by another person (Lois Lenski).
Victory for the Slain
Victory for the Slain (1942) is Lofting's only work for adults, a single long poem in seven parts about the futility of war; the refrain "In war the only victors are the slain" permeates the poem. It was published only in the United Kingdom.
Lofting was born in Maidenhead, England, to English and Irish parents. His early education was at Mount St Mary's College in Sheffield, after which he went to the United States, completing a degree in civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He traveled widely as a civil engineer before enlisting in the Irish Guards to serve in World War I. Not wishing to write to his children of the brutality of the war, he wrote imaginative letters that were the foundation of the successful Doctor Dolittle novels for children. Seriously wounded in the war, he moved with his family to Connecticut in the United States. Lofting was married three times and had three children, one of whom, his son Christopher, is the executor of his literary estate.
"For years it was a constant source of shock to me to find my writings amongst 'juveniles,'" Lofting reported. "It does not bother me any more now, but I still feel there should be a category of 'seniles' to offset the epithet."
Doctor Dolittle
Hugh Lofting's doctor from Puddleby-on-the-Marsh who could speak to animals first saw light in the author's illustrated letters to children, written from the trenches during World War I when actual news, he later said, was either too horrible or too dull. The stories are set in early Victorian England, (in and around the 1840s, according to a date given in The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle). The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts Never Before Printed (1920) began the series and won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958.The sequel, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922), won Lofting the prestigious Newbery Medal. Eight more books followed, and after Lofting's death two more volumes, composed of short unpublished pieces, appeared. The series has been adapted for film and television many times, for stage twice, and for radio.
Other Works for Children
The Story of Mrs Tubbs (1923) and Tommy, Tilly, and Mrs. Tubbs (1936) are picture books aimed at a younger audience than the Doctor Dolittle books. They concern the titular old woman, her pets (with whom she can speak) and the animals who help her out of trouble.
Porridge Poetry (1924) is the only non-Dolittle work by Lofting still in print. It is a lighthearted, colorfully illustrated book of poems for children.
Noisy Nora (1929) is a cautionary tale about a girl who is a noisy eater. The book is printed as if hand-written, and the many illustrations often merge with the text.
The Twilight of Magic (1930) is aimed at older readers. It is set in an age when magic is dying and science is beginning. This work is the only one of Lofting's books to be illustrated by another person (Lois Lenski).
Victory for the Slain
Victory for the Slain (1942) is Lofting's only work for adults, a single long poem in seven parts about the futility of war; the refrain "In war the only victors are the slain" permeates the poem. It was published only in the United Kingdom.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 29, 2024
A bit of an odd duck, this one. It’s not a ‘new’ Dolittle book but rather an extended version of ‘Doctor Dolittle’s Caravan’, focusing on the parts of the story featuring the titular green canary and providing an entirely new ending.
Fairly entertaining but it was irksome having to skim-read over the bits I’d already read in ‘Doctor Dolittle’s Caravan’.
Fairly entertaining but it was irksome having to skim-read over the bits I’d already read in ‘Doctor Dolittle’s Caravan’.
October 15, 2019
Doctor Dolittle hears the full story of a green canary's life, from the time she was born in a cage to her tragic separation from her owner, the window washer. After their success in the Canary Opera, Pippinella and Doctor Dolittle set out to find the missing window washer, and restore Pippinella to her favorite owner.
I enjoyed this book so much! The characters are hilarious, and I loved Pippinella's varied life experiences and all the weird circumstances that made her change owners so frequently. She lives with a coal miner, a marchioness, a troop of soldiers, an innkeeper, and a tramp. She also lives in the wild for a short time before being captured, stolen from her rightful owner, and sold in a pet shop to John Dolittle.
This book is an expansion and continuation of the story told in Doctor Dolittle's Caravan, with many of the same story lines and plot points retold with more detail. Whereas "Doctor Dolittle's Caravan" ends when the Canary Opera is over, this book continues with a further adventure to find the missing window washer.
"Caravan" gives a short synopsis of Pippinella's life and focuses mostly on the Canary Opera. This book gives all the details of Pippinella's life and a short synopsis of the doings at the Canary Opera.
I would definitely recommend reading "Caravan" first, and then reading this one. The details are so interesting and the plot points are so amusing, that it doesn't suffer at all from being retold and expanded on.
I enjoyed this book so much! The characters are hilarious, and I loved Pippinella's varied life experiences and all the weird circumstances that made her change owners so frequently. She lives with a coal miner, a marchioness, a troop of soldiers, an innkeeper, and a tramp. She also lives in the wild for a short time before being captured, stolen from her rightful owner, and sold in a pet shop to John Dolittle.
This book is an expansion and continuation of the story told in Doctor Dolittle's Caravan, with many of the same story lines and plot points retold with more detail. Whereas "Doctor Dolittle's Caravan" ends when the Canary Opera is over, this book continues with a further adventure to find the missing window washer.
"Caravan" gives a short synopsis of Pippinella's life and focuses mostly on the Canary Opera. This book gives all the details of Pippinella's life and a short synopsis of the doings at the Canary Opera.
I would definitely recommend reading "Caravan" first, and then reading this one. The details are so interesting and the plot points are so amusing, that it doesn't suffer at all from being retold and expanded on.
February 2, 2016
This book is so cool I so love it I actually tried to talk to my dog like he does.
August 3, 2009
*Updated Review in 2009*
I still remember exactly where this book was located in my catholic school library, and it's been well over 15 years since I read this book.
I'm very surprised I didn't read any other Dr Dolittle books, because I just adored this one. I only read it once, and it left a huge impression.
8/3: Wow. Either my taste in books has changed drastically since I was a little girl, or I had really crappy taste back then.
This book is boring as sin. I didn't even finish it. I know this was the book I read then only because of the part where Pippinella is taken to the mine to be the gas-sniffing bird. Other than that, I would wonder if I hallucinated the whole thing.
Hunh.
I'm going to leave my rating the same, though. Because the little girl I was in Catholic school loved it, and I'm not arguing with her. She was a lot nicer and more innocent than I am.
I still remember exactly where this book was located in my catholic school library, and it's been well over 15 years since I read this book.
I'm very surprised I didn't read any other Dr Dolittle books, because I just adored this one. I only read it once, and it left a huge impression.
8/3: Wow. Either my taste in books has changed drastically since I was a little girl, or I had really crappy taste back then.
This book is boring as sin. I didn't even finish it. I know this was the book I read then only because of the part where Pippinella is taken to the mine to be the gas-sniffing bird. Other than that, I would wonder if I hallucinated the whole thing.
Hunh.
I'm going to leave my rating the same, though. Because the little girl I was in Catholic school loved it, and I'm not arguing with her. She was a lot nicer and more innocent than I am.
June 18, 2008
I'm busy reading this to my daughter (pre-school) and we both love it. It is wonderful to meet the characters again that I remember from when I read Lofting's books as a child. Pippinella, the green canary is the star of this volume. The book is a kind of biography, social history, political tract, adventure story - wow!
Library book...
Library book...
November 13, 2007
Probably my favorite Dr. Doolittle book. I'm sure it had a lot to do with me begging my mother incessantly to get a canary. I did get a parakeet, poor soul. I am not a good pet owner.
November 26, 2009
Very intresting, I enjoyed it becuase of all the twists and turns.
November 19, 2016
Utterly charming cover to cover as are most of Hugh Lofting's books about the dear animal doctor and speaker of animal languages!
July 10, 2018
I loved Lofting’s books about the doctor as a child but I think even if I had read this one 25 years ago I would have found the canary prissy and generally unlikeable, the story a tangled mess, and the book just generally not that interesting. Not sorry I missed this one at 9!
Read
January 10, 2014This was a good book, same story from beginning to end. Well put together, not too episodic.
Read
March 19, 2020این یکی دیگه از کتاب های دوران نوجوانی من هستش. یک کتاب خیلی خیلی جذاب که امسال فیلم اون رو دیدم.
October 23, 2025
Last weekend we went to see a friend in Austria who breeds finches. As we strolled among the aviaries, admiring his multicoloured flock, I suddenly remembered this marvelous book – one of the treasures to be found in the glass-fronted cabinet in my Granny's basement where she kept the children's books my Aunties Dorothy and Caroline left behind when they moved out.
When I was little, if I'd been extra special good, I was allowed to climb down the uncarpeted wooden stairs that the dog hated because they were so slippery, and choose a book from that bookcase. In my memory, Pippinella is a green finch, though, not a canary. High time for a reread!
When I was little, if I'd been extra special good, I was allowed to climb down the uncarpeted wooden stairs that the dog hated because they were so slippery, and choose a book from that bookcase. In my memory, Pippinella is a green finch, though, not a canary. High time for a reread!
January 28, 2020
The Hugh Lofting Doctor Dolittle stories are classics that stand the test of time. I really enjoy them and find them clever and enjoyable. I think the writing can be seen as a bit dated but I think it's still extremely readable.
January 4, 2020
Rarely are such thrilling adventures so well told and never about a canary! Another excellent addition to the many escapades of Dr. Dolittle!
June 24, 2024
Много ми хареса!!!
Има много мистерии, които се разрешават с помощта на животните като прилепите, бандите с птици и главно с птицата Чийспайд!
Има много мистерии, които се разрешават с помощта на животните като прилепите, бандите с птици и главно с птицата Чийспайд!
August 6, 2024
Finally I found from where the castaway movie line was taken
September 18, 2024
"Where there's life, there's hope."
This was my least favorite of any Dolittle book I've read so far.
This was my least favorite of any Dolittle book I've read so far.
September 19, 2021
Przepiękna historia
May 10, 2012
nice book!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews