I was very sad to discover that one of my favorite books from my childhood has been cuffed by the PC police.

I hate to think that anyone would be made to feel inferior or bad about themselves because of this book. I have so many fond memories of it. But I just don’t think it’s true. Tell me I’m wrong.

Doctor Dolittle, in the book, started out as a people doctor, but he loved animals. Eventually, his parrot taught him parrot language and other animal languages. He had so many adventures and interesting things happen to him.

In the first book of what became a series, The Story of Doctor Dolittle, the Doctor wants to meet the greatest naturalist the world has ever known.

His parrot scoffs at the idea that any naturalist could be better than Doctor Dolittle, but even she admits that this naturalist is a pretty good one.

He is an old old native american, an Indian who has spent his life learning about plants and animals. Doctor Dolittle is sure they would have a lot to teach each other.

On the way to finding the Indian man, Doctor Dolittle has to go to African countries. The king and his people have been mistreated by the white people that came before, and are not welcoming. But the doctor is clever, and he has a lot of help from the animals. He makes it through and escapes for the African king.

The book was written in 1920, and the illustrations are typically racist in the way of that era. The inhuman caricature of the African peoples, with the big lips and strange hair are not realistic or appropriate.

I would be happier if they were not part of the books, even though i really love the artistic style of all the other illustrations.

In fact, I remember as a child wondering about those pictures. I was confused, I thought that the illustrator had suddenly lost his skill. I asked my mom whey they looked so funny. She said that people used to draw black people like that, and that I was right, it was silly.

The characters, the africans in the story, are not treated in a racist way. In fact, the Doctor defends the Africans’ suspicion of him as a white person, saying it was understandable since they had been mistreated. The Africans are a little silly, but no sillier than any of the other characters in the book (the pirates, the cat’s meat man at Puddleby).

I am disappointed that they have “improved” upon Hugh Lofting’s original work. I think it is fine the way it was written.

I know that I, my brothers, and all our friends would discuss at length the Doctor Dolittle books. We wondered what the Solid gold collar would look like, and I am now very aware of the different smells of water.

All of us became fascinated with ship’s biscuit, and forced our mothers to buy it for it.

I still like hard tack (aka ship’s biscuit)