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Curious George Original Adventures #2
Curious George Takes a Job
Curious George is a good little monkey. But he' very curious.
One day George escapes from the zoo, He rides on top of a bus, he gets busy in a kitchen and takes a job washing windows. Then he sees some men painting ... and of course George is very curious. And that's when the trouble begins!
One day George escapes from the zoo, He rides on top of a bus, he gets busy in a kitchen and takes a job washing windows. Then he sees some men painting ... and of course George is very curious. And that's when the trouble begins!
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
36 people are currently reading
1412 people want to read
About the author
H.A. Rey
585 books213 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 - 29 of 154 reviews
January 5, 2019
When a curious monkey has too much time on his hands, he's bound to find some mischief. George wonders what life might be like outside and leaves the confines of his home. After finding himself in the middle of a restaurant kitchen, he is given the opportunity to take a job washing window.s While he is agile and able to climb with ease, the curiosity of what is going on inside each apartment is too much for George. He enters when no one is looking and begins taking things into his own hands. While he does not mean any harm, there's always a little too much curiosity in that monkey. Neo quite enjoyed this story, seeing George get into so much trouble. He loved the illustrations and the story kept his attention throughout. Bring on more Curious George!
January 4, 2017
I just reread this to my little niece. She's read at least one other George book. The scenes I remember best from when was tiny are the part where he gets tangled up in spaghetti and when he paints all over the stranger's apartment when he's supposed to be washing the windows and NOT being curious. Hopefully my niece won't try painting anything.
This was written back when few people were concerned about animal rights or conditions in zoos, and it shows. What tiny cages! No wonder George wanted to get away. I remember thinking even as a small child that the Man was not a very good friend. He doesn't seem to have looked for George and even when he locates him he doesn't visit him in the hospital until George is all healed and can be used in a movie.
This was written back when few people were concerned about animal rights or conditions in zoos, and it shows. What tiny cages! No wonder George wanted to get away. I remember thinking even as a small child that the Man was not a very good friend. He doesn't seem to have looked for George and even when he locates him he doesn't visit him in the hospital until George is all healed and can be used in a movie.
August 3, 2021
More fun with everyone's favorite curious monkey. The artwork is wonderful.
March 29, 2019
Curious George is a monkey who lives in the zoo. He is curious about the outside world. George runs away from the zoo and his adventures begin. This cute story about a monkey whose first job is washing dishes, then he washes windows. When the man in the yellow hat finds George at the hospital, his next job will be a movie star. It's a cute story with lively illustrations just perfect to peek the interest of young readers.
June 7, 2021
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is the best Curious George book. I read a LOT of these books, and the latter day Curious Georges leave a little something to be desired. The problem is, people like the man in the yellow hat, other people who live in the building, local elementary school teachers, etc, really ought to know better by now. Yellow hat man will just wander off to look at a book, or go buy tickets to the aquarium, and say "don't be curious" like it's going to work. Random parents will invite George to pizza parties and then leave him alone in the kitchen like it's no big deal. And then they come back and act all shocked - "George! How could this possibly have happened?! You should leave! - and I know George then accidentally discovers a dinosaur or something and saves the day, but I feel bad for the little guy. He is ALWAYS VERY curious! You all should know this by now people.
But here, no one knows George yet. He's just an anonymous little monkey who could easily be hired as a window cleaner. And there are real consequences, like a broken leg. If this were a latter day George, he would paint all over the lady's apartment and then she would inexplicably like it, or he would win a prize for painting or something. But no, he jumps off a fire escape and breaks his leg, and the lady says that it serves him right. And he invites her to his movie premiere anyway! What a classy monkey.
I'm putting this ahead of the very first CG book, because yellow hat man straight up kidnaps George and that is disconcerting. Also I don't think they would throw him in jail for accidentally calling the fire department.
But here, no one knows George yet. He's just an anonymous little monkey who could easily be hired as a window cleaner. And there are real consequences, like a broken leg. If this were a latter day George, he would paint all over the lady's apartment and then she would inexplicably like it, or he would win a prize for painting or something. But no, he jumps off a fire escape and breaks his leg, and the lady says that it serves him right. And he invites her to his movie premiere anyway! What a classy monkey.
I'm putting this ahead of the very first CG book, because yellow hat man straight up kidnaps George and that is disconcerting. Also I don't think they would throw him in jail for accidentally calling the fire department.
September 6, 2018
George gets into his normal trouble, but at least this time he gets paid.
July 28, 2021
I love Curious George, he is one of my favourite characters - well, he is at least my favourite monkey (I have two large Curious George prints on my walls among my many pictures)! His tales are always fun, this one is no different as he gets into all sorts of trouble when he escapes from the zoo and wanders round town trying his hand at a variety of jobs.
He rides into town on the roof of a bus and then jumps down to begin the mayhem. He starts by working in a kitchen and there is plenty of scope for his curiosity to get the better of him there. The cook has to dispense with his services so he speaks with a friend who gives George the job of cleaning windows in a skyscraper.
George was agile enough to jump from window to window until he espies some painters and decorators working in a room. He waits till they go to lunch and then steps in to continue the work ... but with disastrous - but certainly innovative -consequences!
He escapes the wrath of the painters and owners by fleeing down the fire escape but when he jumps off the last ladder he discovers that the ground is not as soft as jumping down in the jungle. And he breaks a leg and ends up in hospital. Once he begins to recover there, he applies his curiosity to hospital matters, once again with dire consequences.
Finally the Man in the Yellow Hat, who initially rescued him, finds him in hospital and takes him to a movie studio ... and he becomes a huge star. I told you so at the beginning!
He rides into town on the roof of a bus and then jumps down to begin the mayhem. He starts by working in a kitchen and there is plenty of scope for his curiosity to get the better of him there. The cook has to dispense with his services so he speaks with a friend who gives George the job of cleaning windows in a skyscraper.
George was agile enough to jump from window to window until he espies some painters and decorators working in a room. He waits till they go to lunch and then steps in to continue the work ... but with disastrous - but certainly innovative -consequences!
He escapes the wrath of the painters and owners by fleeing down the fire escape but when he jumps off the last ladder he discovers that the ground is not as soft as jumping down in the jungle. And he breaks a leg and ends up in hospital. Once he begins to recover there, he applies his curiosity to hospital matters, once again with dire consequences.
Finally the Man in the Yellow Hat, who initially rescued him, finds him in hospital and takes him to a movie studio ... and he becomes a huge star. I told you so at the beginning!
May 8, 2018
This classic has several parts to the story - first he gets out of his cage and avoids capture inside the zoo, then he makes his way around the city on a bus, then gets into mischief at a restaurant, then at an apartment building, then makes a movie. Quite a ride. Again, I appreciate the way it captures the attention of my 4-year-old even though it's longer than many other picture books.
January 28, 2020
Charming book about Curious George getting a job after running away from the zoo. The man in the Yellow Hat finds him and makes a movie of George. George is a star!
August 7, 2018
Curious George escapes from the zoo and works in different jobs. A cute story about a curious, and mischievous, little monkey.
November 5, 2018
George escapes captivity, becomes a slave, and suffers workplace injury
March 7, 2018
My son from birth has always been surrounded with Curious George. Today at the ripe old age of 3 he travels everywhere with his stuffed George doll, and morning cuddle time he is a mainstay. He loves the cartoons on PBS as well. For me, I remember as a kid going to my ped. for Dr. appts, always looking for a certain George book, (George Goes to the Hospital) for the waiting room. Luckily it was always available in the waiting room. A couple years ago I found a beautiful hardcover boxset at B&N that I thought would make a great Xmas gift for my son, and it included the Hospital book along with this one. The gift was a smash hit. The stories tend to be a bit on the long side by todays standards, but they are highly enjoyable to read for bedtime story telling.
Beautiful artwork, well written stories in a classic sense. Wording that always follows the pictures as well as now my son can relay the stories to me by both memory and picture guidance. You can't go wrong here. The simplicity and innocense of the time period when written is highly apparent which for me I want for my son. Life lessons will come, but right now I want him to enjoy his time of playfulness and George helps him do so.
Beautiful artwork, well written stories in a classic sense. Wording that always follows the pictures as well as now my son can relay the stories to me by both memory and picture guidance. You can't go wrong here. The simplicity and innocense of the time period when written is highly apparent which for me I want for my son. Life lessons will come, but right now I want him to enjoy his time of playfulness and George helps him do so.
May 21, 2018
I just read this to my 4yr old nephew. He loves being read to which makes reading out loud so much fun! Curious George is a classic!
January 7, 2023
I'm glad that he made a movie and that the picture looks like exactly like some picture in one of the Curious George books.
November 26, 2018
Very cute story where George takes a job and gets into mischief. Love these sweet stories.
June 24, 2021
Not a huge fan of Curious George but my 5 year old finds it funny
August 1, 2017
Check out more picture book reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...
Curious George escapes his cage at the zoo and learns he must get a job. After getting into some trouble he is saved by the Man in the Yellow Hat.
My nephew LOVES these books and I never fail to get a giggle out of him when we read these together but I can't help disliking them. This one is better than most in that there is some life lessons here and the trouble he gets into is rather cute. I think their appeal is that they are silly and George gets to act contrary to how they are allowed to act. Not a good message - only by rebelling/acting out do we get to have fun. Stll I'll keep reading them with him since he loves them so much...
BOTTOM LINE: If your child loves them, check out from the library.
______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my picture book reviews in a special feature called Boo's Picture Gallery...
Curious George escapes his cage at the zoo and learns he must get a job. After getting into some trouble he is saved by the Man in the Yellow Hat.
My nephew LOVES these books and I never fail to get a giggle out of him when we read these together but I can't help disliking them. This one is better than most in that there is some life lessons here and the trouble he gets into is rather cute. I think their appeal is that they are silly and George gets to act contrary to how they are allowed to act. Not a good message - only by rebelling/acting out do we get to have fun. Stll I'll keep reading them with him since he loves them so much...
BOTTOM LINE: If your child loves them, check out from the library.
______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my picture book reviews in a special feature called Boo's Picture Gallery...
March 31, 2012
I am not a Curious George fan. This makes no sense. The man in the yellow hat stole George from Africa. But in this book, George is in a zoo. What happened? By the end of the book, the man in the yellow hat has reclaimed George to pawn him off as a movie star. This is, of course, after George mucks up everything from when he escaped the zoo. At one point George becomes high off of sniffing ether. Entirely dated!
Why would a restaurant owner not freak out if he found a monkey in his kitchen? Who would hire a monkey to be a window washer?
Why would a restaurant owner not freak out if he found a monkey in his kitchen? Who would hire a monkey to be a window washer?
June 25, 2007
This is another really sad book.
First cute little monkey George is ripped from his homeland and brought to the industrial world. Then he gets a job. One would think that a monkey would be allowed to chill out and not have to spend life as a wage slave. Those would be logical monkey perks. But no, cute little George takes a job. Sigh.
I would have given this book only one star, but I have to give it at least two stars just because George is so darn cute.
First cute little monkey George is ripped from his homeland and brought to the industrial world. Then he gets a job. One would think that a monkey would be allowed to chill out and not have to spend life as a wage slave. Those would be logical monkey perks. But no, cute little George takes a job. Sigh.
I would have given this book only one star, but I have to give it at least two stars just because George is so darn cute.
September 7, 2018
George took a job. we all know he's gunna suck at it. like he does at EVERYTHING GOD MADE TO DO!!!
I'm gunna go ahead and say it. it was pretty heckin' good. Just do this special and confused author a favor and read the "book" and give it 5 stars, beacuse it deserves it.
I'm gunna go ahead and say it. it was pretty heckin' good. Just do this special and confused author a favor and read the "book" and give it 5 stars, beacuse it deserves it.
October 15, 2013
About damn time, Curious George!
September 16, 2016
Even better than the first one!
April 1, 2020
I loved Curious George books as a young child. He tried many different things and was always forgiven for his crazy antics. But as a grandmother, re-reading these books with my grandson, I find them tiresome.
1. This was an illustrated audio book. I do not like all the extraneous noises and music that goes along in the background, it is distracting. Kids should not need so much extra entertainment to enjoy stories. Also, I don't care for the narrator. No good reason, just blahhh....
2. George is continually set up for failure by the (in)competent adults throughout the book, not his curiosity. In this book, failure comes along from:
A. The zoo keeper, who does not take proper care of his keys.
B. The cook, who pawns George off as slave labor to the Elevator man. I did agree with the cook requiring George to make restitution for breaking and entering and for damages to his food. But I want to know the name of the restaurant because personally, I never want to eat there.
C. The elevator man puts George to work without any PPE on a high-rise building washing windows. When George becomes side tracked from his job, makes a mess with paint and then falls from the fire escape and breaks his leg, the Elevator man says, "I told him he would get into trouble. He was too curious." So if the Elevator man knew the job was unsuitable, why did he allow George to clean windows? Because he was cheap and wanted free labor, right?
D. George is drugged by a bottle of ether, left out by hospital staff. He is aroused by placing him, unconscious, in a bath and shower.
E. The man with the yellow hat decides to further pimp George by putting him in a movie.
The book refers to George as having four hands, but this is incorrect. Chimpanzees have two arms and two legs, with hands and feet. They have apposable thumbs that help their feet to work similar to hands.
Incidentally, the illustrations show George to be looking somewhat like a very large elephant turd in one picture where he hides in the hay of the elephant cage.
2.5 stars for the kid entertainment value of monkeys doing crazy things
We read this as an illustrated audio book during the Covid-19 quarantine.
1. This was an illustrated audio book. I do not like all the extraneous noises and music that goes along in the background, it is distracting. Kids should not need so much extra entertainment to enjoy stories. Also, I don't care for the narrator. No good reason, just blahhh....
2. George is continually set up for failure by the (in)competent adults throughout the book, not his curiosity. In this book, failure comes along from:
A. The zoo keeper, who does not take proper care of his keys.
B. The cook, who pawns George off as slave labor to the Elevator man. I did agree with the cook requiring George to make restitution for breaking and entering and for damages to his food. But I want to know the name of the restaurant because personally, I never want to eat there.
C. The elevator man puts George to work without any PPE on a high-rise building washing windows. When George becomes side tracked from his job, makes a mess with paint and then falls from the fire escape and breaks his leg, the Elevator man says, "I told him he would get into trouble. He was too curious." So if the Elevator man knew the job was unsuitable, why did he allow George to clean windows? Because he was cheap and wanted free labor, right?
D. George is drugged by a bottle of ether, left out by hospital staff. He is aroused by placing him, unconscious, in a bath and shower.
E. The man with the yellow hat decides to further pimp George by putting him in a movie.
The book refers to George as having four hands, but this is incorrect. Chimpanzees have two arms and two legs, with hands and feet. They have apposable thumbs that help their feet to work similar to hands.
Incidentally, the illustrations show George to be looking somewhat like a very large elephant turd in one picture where he hides in the hay of the elephant cage.
2.5 stars for the kid entertainment value of monkeys doing crazy things
We read this as an illustrated audio book during the Covid-19 quarantine.
July 25, 2024
So, while better than the first book, this one is still a bust for me.
George gets bored at the zoo and decides to escape to see the city. He rides on top of a bus, breaks into the kitchen of an Italian restaurant and gets tangled in the pasta, then is...given a job as a dish washer there? I mean sure, don't report the monkey everyone is looking for that escaped from the zoo, make him wash dishes with all four limbs in a food establishment. Gross.
Next he gets hooked up with a job as a window washer because he can free climb the building, and he spends this time peeping on residents in the apartments. He sees some painters working inside and thinks their job looks fun, so he abandons the window washing and plays with their paints while they are on break. For some reason despite seemingly painting the walls a single solid color, these guys have enough paint colors for George to make a jungle mural.
The people come back and the woman who lives there freaks out, when in reality a monkey painting your apartment would have been newsworthy and instantly raised your property value, but you know, plot. They chase George down the fire escape but he has to jump the last stretch to the ground, and being a monkey he doesn't understand that it's CONCRETE and breaks a bunch of bones. Again, they don't take the escaped monkey back to the zoo to a vet, but to the human hospital???
George is all in casts and traction and sad, but who should see the story in the newspaper but his old abductor...er..."friend" The Man in the Yellow Hat. He thinks "why did I ever sell that monkey to the zoo, I can make way more money on him by making a movie about how I stole him from Africa!" So he somehow has no problem taking custody of George once he's recovered at the hospital, but not before George again wandered unsupervised around medical equipment and knocked himself out with a bottle of ether.
So the studio exec makes George the monkey sign a movie contract (cause that seems legally binding) and for the movie premiere they invite the zookeepers, Italian restaurant chef, doorman at the building he window washed, the painters and woman who chased him, and all the doctors and nurses from the hospital. Hooray.
George gets bored at the zoo and decides to escape to see the city. He rides on top of a bus, breaks into the kitchen of an Italian restaurant and gets tangled in the pasta, then is...given a job as a dish washer there? I mean sure, don't report the monkey everyone is looking for that escaped from the zoo, make him wash dishes with all four limbs in a food establishment. Gross.
Next he gets hooked up with a job as a window washer because he can free climb the building, and he spends this time peeping on residents in the apartments. He sees some painters working inside and thinks their job looks fun, so he abandons the window washing and plays with their paints while they are on break. For some reason despite seemingly painting the walls a single solid color, these guys have enough paint colors for George to make a jungle mural.
The people come back and the woman who lives there freaks out, when in reality a monkey painting your apartment would have been newsworthy and instantly raised your property value, but you know, plot. They chase George down the fire escape but he has to jump the last stretch to the ground, and being a monkey he doesn't understand that it's CONCRETE and breaks a bunch of bones. Again, they don't take the escaped monkey back to the zoo to a vet, but to the human hospital???
George is all in casts and traction and sad, but who should see the story in the newspaper but his old abductor...er..."friend" The Man in the Yellow Hat. He thinks "why did I ever sell that monkey to the zoo, I can make way more money on him by making a movie about how I stole him from Africa!" So he somehow has no problem taking custody of George once he's recovered at the hospital, but not before George again wandered unsupervised around medical equipment and knocked himself out with a bottle of ether.
So the studio exec makes George the monkey sign a movie contract (cause that seems legally binding) and for the movie premiere they invite the zookeepers, Italian restaurant chef, doorman at the building he window washed, the painters and woman who chased him, and all the doctors and nurses from the hospital. Hooray.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2025
Curious George is my 2-year-old's favorite character. The Reys' original books have more artistic merit than most children's books, so getting to read those to her is more interesting than story time with duller books.
With the second book, we're still in Early Installment Weirdness before the formula of every story starting with "This is George. He was a good little monkey and always very curious. He lived with his friend, the Man in the Yellow Hat..." set in. Here he lives in the zoo tMitYH forced him to move to from the jungle in the first book. He's curious what the world outside the zoo is like, so he steals a zookeeper's key, hides with the elephant for a while, then escapes when no employees are around.
George gets hungry and steals spaghetti from a restaurant kitchen. The cook makes him clean up his mess and pay for his theft by washing dishes. Since monkeys have four hands, George can work twice as quickly, which gives the cook the idea of getting him a job as a skyscraper window washer. But when he sees painters through an apartment window, he decides he'd rather have their job. The painters and the woman the apartment belongs to chase him down the fire escape. George thinks he can escape like jumping down from a tree on to soft jungle ground but breaks his leg on cement instead.
An ambulance takes George to the hospital, where he spends most of the rest of the book. How George broke his leg made the newspapers, which is how the Man in the Yellow Hat reunites with him at the hospital. He wants to take George to a movie studio to make a picture about his life in the jungle. The book ends with the movie premiere.
It's not stated in the text, but George doesn't have to live in the zoo after this. The Man takes him home and all future books, including many, many written by people other than the Reys, have them living together.
I can see why it's a classic.
With the second book, we're still in Early Installment Weirdness before the formula of every story starting with "This is George. He was a good little monkey and always very curious. He lived with his friend, the Man in the Yellow Hat..." set in. Here he lives in the zoo tMitYH forced him to move to from the jungle in the first book. He's curious what the world outside the zoo is like, so he steals a zookeeper's key, hides with the elephant for a while, then escapes when no employees are around.
George gets hungry and steals spaghetti from a restaurant kitchen. The cook makes him clean up his mess and pay for his theft by washing dishes. Since monkeys have four hands, George can work twice as quickly, which gives the cook the idea of getting him a job as a skyscraper window washer. But when he sees painters through an apartment window, he decides he'd rather have their job. The painters and the woman the apartment belongs to chase him down the fire escape. George thinks he can escape like jumping down from a tree on to soft jungle ground but breaks his leg on cement instead.
An ambulance takes George to the hospital, where he spends most of the rest of the book. How George broke his leg made the newspapers, which is how the Man in the Yellow Hat reunites with him at the hospital. He wants to take George to a movie studio to make a picture about his life in the jungle. The book ends with the movie premiere.
It's not stated in the text, but George doesn't have to live in the zoo after this. The Man takes him home and all future books, including many, many written by people other than the Reys, have them living together.
I can see why it's a classic.
May 26, 2017
As I've gotten older, I've come to realize one truth: Curious George is about white colonialism, white supremacy, and a dehumanization of any other cultures, this case being specifically black/African cultures. I'm disgusted at myself and everyone else who shared this series with me over the years. Shame on all of you, and especially myself.
Edit: One thing more. While Curious George, taken in the context of a curiously over intelligent but playfully curious animal friend (not unique in the book world), is fun, Curious George and hundreds, if not thousands, of other books like it, deserve to have their social and historical background explained, never as excuses, but to give reference and information on how not to be a racist ethnocentric asshat. We learn from our history, and this series is one of those that deserves to tell all of its history. This book is racist. The whole series is racist. Explain more to kids how imagery effects them, effected many people, and why. Stop pretending we live in a vacuum, and stop assuming. Inform so people (which includes all the little people, too) can make more choices.
Edit: One thing more. While Curious George, taken in the context of a curiously over intelligent but playfully curious animal friend (not unique in the book world), is fun, Curious George and hundreds, if not thousands, of other books like it, deserve to have their social and historical background explained, never as excuses, but to give reference and information on how not to be a racist ethnocentric asshat. We learn from our history, and this series is one of those that deserves to tell all of its history. This book is racist. The whole series is racist. Explain more to kids how imagery effects them, effected many people, and why. Stop pretending we live in a vacuum, and stop assuming. Inform so people (which includes all the little people, too) can make more choices.
July 1, 2017
I'm learning Spanish, and wanted to start reading real books. Looking at full-length novels I realized that as a relative beginner, I would quickly get frustrated. So I thought, what is my reading level right now? And decided I was probably at a 1st or 2nd grade level, so I picked up Curious George. It was perfect! I could read most everything, but there were still sections that challenged me. And I could read it through 5 or 6 times, getting better each time. What is fun about this particular book is that they have not edited out the part where Jorge el Curioso passes out from smelling ether: "¡Olía Raro!"
Also, the earlier reviewer writing that this is about white colonialism has a point. For a sensitive contemporary reader, we can certainly see how pernicious an attitude that was in 1947. I find value in having a historical document that points that out. But I tend to read texts that way. For those who are more sensitive and put everything into a contemporary context, beware.
Also, the earlier reviewer writing that this is about white colonialism has a point. For a sensitive contemporary reader, we can certainly see how pernicious an attitude that was in 1947. I find value in having a historical document that points that out. But I tend to read texts that way. For those who are more sensitive and put everything into a contemporary context, beware.
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September 18, 2019Curious George decides that he doesn't like the zoo so he breaks out of it. After breaking out, he gets hungry and goes into a restaurant to eat and the cook catches him and makes him do the dishes. The cook takes him to his friend who gives him a job as a window washer. He gets distracted one day and goes into one of the windows to paint a room. While escaping, he hurts his leg and ends up in the hospital. The man with the yellow hat finds out about it and take Curious George to be the star of a movie.
I love this book because it's such a great example of recovering from our mistakes. We as humans mess up a lot and when things seem bad, like when George was in the hospital, we lose hope. However, from this story we can see that there's a high for every low in life. I would use this book in the classroom to teach that to my students.
I love this book because it's such a great example of recovering from our mistakes. We as humans mess up a lot and when things seem bad, like when George was in the hospital, we lose hope. However, from this story we can see that there's a high for every low in life. I would use this book in the classroom to teach that to my students.
January 20, 2020
George's curiosity really gets him into trouble this time. While washing windows in a high rise, he sees several scenes of living through the windows, but the one where a man had set out a paint in a variety of colors and then left them there while he took a break got the better of George. All those colors of paints was just too enticing and he sneaks in the window and proceeds to paint murals on the walls. He gets caught in the act, a chase ensues and he jumps out a window trying to escape which breaks his leg and he has to do a stint in the hospital. Poor George! While in the hospital, he finds some ether and gets high and passes out. Meanwhile, the yellow hat man had been searching for George and finds him in the hospital passed out, but they are able to revive him in a cold shower. Then the yellow hat man takes him to be an actor in a movie and all ends well with a full theatre enjoying George's acting debut on the big screen. It was a tough road to employment and stardom but he makes it.
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