Dr. Doolittle, the books:

Hugh Lofting wrote about a dozen Dr. Doolittle books. I hope they are little read today. He was an extreme misogynist and anti-intellectual. Pretty much the only female in the books who is not a dreadful stereotype is the wise old parrot. He was very much anti-science and against virtually all engineering improvements the 20th century might offer. Add to that a light touch of racism and you were all set. I loved those books as a child and read them over and over. Their delightful characters, fun plots, outlandish locales, imaginative illustrations and ventures into science fiction were a great pleasure. Reading at an impressionable age, I’m very lucky not to have picked up the author’s biases. At least I think I didn’t.