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Curious George Discovers
Curious George Discovers Space (science storybook) by H. A. Rey
Excellent Book
Paperback
First published October 6, 2015
6 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
H.A. Rey
585 books211 followersHans Augusto Rey was born on September 16, 1898, in Hamburg, Germany. He grew up there near the world-famous Hagenbeck Zoo, and developed a lifelong love for animals and drawing. Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein (who would be known to most of the world as Margret Rey) was also born in Hamburg on May 16, 1906. The two met briefly when Margret was a young girl, before she left Hamburg to study art. They were reunited in 1935 in Rio de Janeiro, where Hans was selling bathtubs as part of a family business and Margret was escaping the political climate in Germany. Margret convinced Hans to leave the family business, and soon they were working together on a variety of projects.
Hans and Margret were married in Brazil on August 16, 1935, and they moved to Paris after falling in love with the city during their European honeymoon. It was there that Hans published his first children’s book, after a French publisher saw his newspaper cartoons of a giraffe and asked him to expand upon them. Raffy and the Nine Monkeys (Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys in the British and American editions) was the result, and it marked the debut of a mischievous monkey named Curious George.
After Raffy and the Nine Monkeys was published, the Reys decided that Curious George deserved a book of his own, so they began work on a manuscript that featured the lovable and exceedingly curious little monkey. But the late 1930s and early ’40s were a tumultuous time in Europe, and before the new manuscript could be published, the Reys—both German Jews—found themselves in a horrible situation. Hitler and his Nazi party were tearing through Europe, and they were poised to take control of Paris.
Knowing that they must escape before the Nazis took power, Hans cobbled together two bicycles out of spare parts. Early in the morning of June 14, 1940, the Reys set off on their bicycles. They brought very little with them on their predawn flight — only warm coats, a bit of food, and five manuscripts, one of which was Curious George. The Nazis entered Paris just hours later, but the Reys were already on their way out. They rode their makeshift bicycles for four long days until reaching the French-Spanish border, where they sold them for train fare to Lisbon. From there they made their way to Brazil and on to New York City, beginning a whole new life as children’s book authors.
Curious George was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941, and for sixty years these books have been capturing the hearts and minds of readers throughout the world. All the Curious George books, including the seven original stories by Margret and Hans, have sold more than twenty-five million copies. So popular that his original story has never been out of print, George has become one of the most beloved and recognizable characters in children’s literature. His adventures have been translated into many languages, including Japanese, French, Afrikaans, Portuguese, Swedish, German, Chinese, Danish, and Norwegian.
Although both of the Reys have passed away — Hans in 1977 and Margret in 1996—George lives on in the Curious George Foundation. Established in 1989, this foundation funds programs for children that share Curious George’s irresistible qualities—ingenuity, opportunity, determination, and curiosity in learning and exploring. Much consideration is given to programs that benefit animals, through preservation as well as the prevention of cruelty to animals. The foundation supports community outreach programs that emphasize the importance of family, from counseling to peer support groups.
Hans and Margret were married in Brazil on August 16, 1935, and they moved to Paris after falling in love with the city during their European honeymoon. It was there that Hans published his first children’s book, after a French publisher saw his newspaper cartoons of a giraffe and asked him to expand upon them. Raffy and the Nine Monkeys (Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys in the British and American editions) was the result, and it marked the debut of a mischievous monkey named Curious George.
After Raffy and the Nine Monkeys was published, the Reys decided that Curious George deserved a book of his own, so they began work on a manuscript that featured the lovable and exceedingly curious little monkey. But the late 1930s and early ’40s were a tumultuous time in Europe, and before the new manuscript could be published, the Reys—both German Jews—found themselves in a horrible situation. Hitler and his Nazi party were tearing through Europe, and they were poised to take control of Paris.
Knowing that they must escape before the Nazis took power, Hans cobbled together two bicycles out of spare parts. Early in the morning of June 14, 1940, the Reys set off on their bicycles. They brought very little with them on their predawn flight — only warm coats, a bit of food, and five manuscripts, one of which was Curious George. The Nazis entered Paris just hours later, but the Reys were already on their way out. They rode their makeshift bicycles for four long days until reaching the French-Spanish border, where they sold them for train fare to Lisbon. From there they made their way to Brazil and on to New York City, beginning a whole new life as children’s book authors.
Curious George was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941, and for sixty years these books have been capturing the hearts and minds of readers throughout the world. All the Curious George books, including the seven original stories by Margret and Hans, have sold more than twenty-five million copies. So popular that his original story has never been out of print, George has become one of the most beloved and recognizable characters in children’s literature. His adventures have been translated into many languages, including Japanese, French, Afrikaans, Portuguese, Swedish, German, Chinese, Danish, and Norwegian.
Although both of the Reys have passed away — Hans in 1977 and Margret in 1996—George lives on in the Curious George Foundation. Established in 1989, this foundation funds programs for children that share Curious George’s irresistible qualities—ingenuity, opportunity, determination, and curiosity in learning and exploring. Much consideration is given to programs that benefit animals, through preservation as well as the prevention of cruelty to animals. The foundation supports community outreach programs that emphasize the importance of family, from counseling to peer support groups.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 13, 2020
We've seen this episode on the Curious George series. I was a little disappointed by the book. It was the first book on space my preschooler pulled out of our stack and she struggled to pay attention a few pages in. There was some interesting information included in the side notes, but it was almost too much information for the target age.
January 5, 2021
George teaches about the solar system and space travel in this book. We picked this up when Oz was going through a week of being interested in space. I really want to get him his own telescope (secretly I also want a telescope). I know a bit about space so I could help fill in some blanks for him.
The story is a basic George premise with some space thrown in there. He was cheeky as usual but got the job done in the end. I'll have to see if the library has more in the series for him. I'm also excited to try the gravity experiment listed in the back of the book with him.
The story is a basic George premise with some space thrown in there. He was cheeky as usual but got the job done in the end. I'll have to see if the library has more in the series for him. I'm also excited to try the gravity experiment listed in the back of the book with him.
November 23, 2022
I kept wanting to like this because I love Curious George and I can’t think of many great pictures books about space. Instead of loving this, I was disappointed, repeatedly. The scientists on the space station are down to one peanut and no other food. NASA sends an irresponsible, untrained monkey. Why? Because NASA designed a machine that requires 4 “hands” simultaneously to launch supplies. It’s downhill from there.
July 10, 2024
I normally enjoy the Curious George stories, but I feel like this story was all over the place and confusingly written. It felt like they didn’t understand how to adapt the TV show’s episode into a book for this story.
August 10, 2021
Naturally, Curious George saves the day!
December 4, 2015
Basic Plot: George gets to go into space to re-supply the international space station.
This was an interesting addition to these TV adaptation books. It included more story than they typically do. It also included marginalia that actually talked about the science of space, planets, gravity, etc. I found it pretty fascinating, but my little guy started to tune out pretty quickly. It's hard to read both the story and the science notes and keep a coherent flow to things. Long story short, while adult me thought it was a more intelligent, better volume, if the kid can't sit through the story, the book isn't going to get read as often.
This was an interesting addition to these TV adaptation books. It included more story than they typically do. It also included marginalia that actually talked about the science of space, planets, gravity, etc. I found it pretty fascinating, but my little guy started to tune out pretty quickly. It's hard to read both the story and the science notes and keep a coherent flow to things. Long story short, while adult me thought it was a more intelligent, better volume, if the kid can't sit through the story, the book isn't going to get read as often.
October 4, 2016
This Curious George book was reminiscent of the Magic School Bus that we have been reading a lot of lately, in that it is full of facts but they are presented in a fun way so that the kids have fun reading it. Curious George is such a fun monkey and this is an exciting adventure that teaches us a lot of cool things about space. Although this book would have probably not been age appropriate and would not have held the attention of my littles about a year ago, it is now a great book that holds their attention and even excites and fascinates them at ages 4 and 6 years.
June 15, 2016
megan spring reading 2016, children's book, picture book, nonfiction, non-fiction, series, curious george, tv tie-in, space, science, astronomy, first grade, second grade
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews