"The Complete Adventures of Curious George"

With all of the excitement about the first Curious George movie, there has been an increased interest in the children's books about Curious George the monkey. If your family is like mine, several generations have enjoyed the Curious George picture books, and both the adults and the children in your family will be delighted with “The Complete Adventures of Curious George: The Special Collector’s Edition.”

The Book's Contents: Information About Curious George and Margret and H.A. Rey

Adults and older children will particularly appreciate learning more about the books and their creators, Margret and H.A. Rey, through:

• An introduction to the Curious George books and their creators by critic Leonard Marcus
• “Curious George: A Publisher’s Perspective,” an essay by former publisher Anita Silvey
• A retrospective essay by Dee Jones, the curator of the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, with a photographic album of the Reys.

These entries provide intriguing background information on the publication of the Curious George books and on the lives of their creators.

The Seven Original Curious George Stories

Children and adults will enjoy sharing the Rey’s stories of Curious George and the man with the yellow hat. Several things make the Curious George books particularly appealing to young children. George is a curious little monkey who gets into the kind of mischief that appeals to kids. The stories are full of amusing crises, but tragedy is always averted, and each book ends happily. The illustrations, while full of life and color, are also childlike in their simplicity, making them particularly accessible to young children.

All seven of the Curious George stories created by Margret and H.A. Rey are included in “The Complete Adventures of Curious George.”

• "Curious George" (first published in the United States in 1941)
• "Curious George Takes a Job" (1947)
• "Curious George Rides a Bike" (1952)
• "Curious George Gets a Medal" (1957)
• "Curious George Flies a Kite" (1958)
• "Curious George Learns the Alphabet" (1963)
• "Curious George Goes to the Hospital" (1966).

My Recommendation

If you are a Curious George fan, give yourself a treat and buy this book. “The Complete Adventures of Curious George” was published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 2001. The new book jacket was copyrighted in 2005. The hardbound book is 422 pages long. (ISBN: 061816413)

What About the Curious George Movie?

If you plan to see the Curious George movie (release date: February 10, 2006), be sure to read "Curious George Takes a Job" first. After his job as a window washer ends in disaster, Curious George is thrilled to star in a movie about his own life and his adventures since meeting the man with the yellow hat.

What's Your Opinion of the Curious George Books and Movie?

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