Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake

This first Doctor Dolittle story in fifteen years is a generous, endlessly absorbing tale of the good Doctor's voyage to the Secret Lake in Africa to rescue an old, old turtle, Mudface, who lived since before the days of Noah. The many adventures that happen after the good ship Albatross weighs anchor and slips out of Puddleby River on the ebb tide are full of the most delightful excitement and humor, measuring up to the very best that Hugh Lofting has ever done.

Tommy Stubbins and every one of the Doctor's animal family, Cheapside the cockney sparrow, Gub-Gub the pig, Dab-Dab the duck, Polynesia the parrot, and all the rest, throw every ounce of devotion into the enterprise. The Dolittle party finally reaches the Secret Lake and, working with a band of hard-working crocodiles, rescues Mudface from the bottom of the lake where an earthquake had buried him under many tons of mud and rock. Their efforts are rewarded by Mudface's breath-taking tale of the Flood, and of what happened when the waters receeded.

Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake will captivate, and be read and re-read by the countless readers of all ages to whom the name Dolittle means warm friendliness, energy and fun.