Doctor Dolittle's Circus

Rating:
Summary: DOCTOR DOLITTLE'S CIRCUS
Review: Hilarious fourth Dolittle story has the good-natured vet once again joining Blossom's Mammoth circus to exhibit a freak animal called the pushmi-pullyu,and while doing so,rescues a seal from captivity.Great fast-paced children's writing, though it may not have some your favorite characters from the first three books.Kids will love the ending.It is hard to understand why such a good book should be out of print.

Rating:
Summary: Circus One of Dolittle's Best
Review: The Story of Doctor Dolittle (which began this series) is unfortunately somewhat racist, rather baldly written, but engaging and inventive. The Circus of Doctor Dolittle, a later book in the series, is a vast improvement, keeping all the charm of the original but omitting the flaws.

The plot is more concentrated and has more emotional weight, as Doctor Dolittle becomes entangled with a Circus and attempts to free a performing seal. Their hilarious escape in disguise is one of the most charming incidents in children's fiction.

Really a delightful book, lighthearted, but emotionally involving.

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.