Doctor Dolittle in the Moon

Doctor Dolittle in the Moon came out in 1928 and is the most science-fictional book in the series. The doctor, Tommy Stubbins, Polynesia, Chee-Chee, and Jip the dog all set out for the Moon at the invitation of the Lunar Moth that appeared at the end of Doctor Dolittle’s Garden. They travel on the moth’s back, breathing through giant lunar lily blossoms.

On the Moon they find a complex ecology of intelligent plants, enormous insects, and a single human inhabitant called the Man in the Moon, an ancient survivor whom the lunar plants have nursed into something like immortality. The doctor does what the doctor always does: he learns the local language, in this case the language of plants, and tries to understand the social organization of the place from the inside. The book is shorter than some of the others and ends on an unusual cliffhanger that points forward to Doctor Dolittle’s Return. As a piece of 1928 children’s science fiction it is unexpectedly thoughtful, more about ecology and ethics than rocket travel.