Children's classic · Fantasy
The Story of Doctor Dolittle
Reading level: we suggest CEFR A2–B1 for reading The Story of Doctor Dolittle. Length: about 30,000 words.
- Suggested levelA2–B1
- Lengthabout 30,000 words
- Original languageEnglish
The story
Doctor John Dolittle has so many animals in his house that his human patients stop coming. When his parrot Polynesia teaches him the language of animals, he becomes the greatest animal doctor in the world.
News of a terrible sickness among the monkeys of Africa sends the Doctor and his animal friends on a voyage full of shipwrecks, pirates and a creature with a head at each end: the pushmi-pullyu.
Themes: kindness to animals, language learning itself, travel, friendship.
Why it's a good book for language learners
This is a gentle first classic. Sentences are short, the vocabulary is concrete, and the story is literally about learning a new language — Polynesia teaches the Doctor word by word, which makes a lovely model for learners. Note that some passages reflect the attitudes of the 1920s; modern editions have revised them.
How hard is the English in The Story of Doctor Dolittle?
- Flesch Reading Ease83.8
- Flesch–Kincaid grade5.3
- Words per sentence14.8
Measured by PageWalker on the full English text of the book. Flesch Reading Ease runs from 0 to 100 (higher is easier; 60–70 is plain English) and the Flesch–Kincaid grade is a US school grade. These formulas only count sentence and word length, so they miss old-fashioned vocabulary, wordplay and style. That is why our CEFR level, which takes those into account, can be higher than the formula suggests.
What you'll practise
- Animals and their sounds
- Simple past and time words (then, next, after that)
- Giving instructions and advice
- Travel and ship vocabulary
Reading tip
If you are an early intermediate reader, start here before trying longer adventure novels.
Did you know?
Hugh Lofting first told the Dolittle stories in illustrated letters to his children while serving as a soldier in the First World War.
The PageWalker adventure
In the adventure you sail with the Doctor's crew, and your choices decide whether you reach the monkeys in time. You can try the first page in your browser, and the adventure is available in 13 languages with click-to-translate.
The Story of Doctor Dolittle in other languages
- EnglishThe Story of Doctor Dolittle
- العربيةقصة الدكتور دوليتل
- DeutschDoktor Dolittle und seine Tiere
- EspañolLa Historia del Doctor Dolittle
- FrançaisL'Histoire du Docteur Dolittle
- हिन्दीडॉक्टर डूलिटिल की कहानी
- ItalianoLa storia del dottor Dolittle
- 日本語ドリトル先生アフリカゆき
- 한국어둘리틀 선생 이야기
- PortuguêsA História do Doutor Dolittle
- РусскийИстория доктора Дулиттла
- TürkçeDoktor Dolittle'ın Hikayesi
- 简体中文杜立德医生的故事
Questions about The Story of Doctor Dolittle
What reading level is The Story of Doctor Dolittle?
We suggest CEFR A2–B1 for reading The Story of Doctor Dolittle. This is a gentle first classic. On readability formulas the English text scores a Flesch Reading Ease of 83.8 and a Flesch–Kincaid grade of 5.3, with an average of 14.8 words per sentence.
How long is The Story of Doctor Dolittle?
The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (1920) is about 30,000 words.
Can I play The Story of Doctor Dolittle as an interactive adventure?
Yes. In the adventure you sail with the Doctor's crew, and your choices decide whether you reach the monkeys in time. You can try the first page in your browser, in 13 languages.
Updated 16 October 2026
