Curious George (book)

Last updated
Curious George
CuriousGeorgeFirst.JPG
First edition cover
Author Margret Rey
H. A. Rey
LanguageEnglish
Series Curious George
Genre Children's literature
Publisher Houghton Mifflin
Publication date
1941
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Followed by Curious George Takes a Job  

Curious George is a children's book written and illustrated by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey, and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941. [1] The first book in the Curious George series, it tells the story of a monkey named George, who was taken into captivity by the Man with the Yellow Hat. [2] For 83 years (as of October 4, 2024), it has sold over 25 million copies, and has been translated into various different languages such as Japanese, French, Afrikaans, Portuguese, Swedish, German, Chinese, Danish, and Norwegian. [3] It is also in the Indie Choice Book Awards Picture Book Hall of Fame [4] and has been the subject of scholarly criticism.

Contents

Background

The character of George the monkey originated from the 1939 publication of Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys , co-written by the Reys and printed in Paris. [5] London-based publisher Grace Hogarth offered a four-book deal to the Reys upon reading their original version of Curious George, and asked the Reys to consider changing the monkey's name from Fifi to Curious George. Curious George was published in America in August 1941, with an initial print run of 7,500 copies and a price of $2.00. [5] However, Margret Rey's name did not appear on early copies of Curious George because the publisher felt that children's literature was too dominated by women. [2]

Plot

George is a curious monkey living in an African jungle. "The Man in the Yellow Hat" meets George and places his yellow straw hat on the ground. A curious George puts it on his head, blocking his sight. With George unable to see, The Man puts him in a bag, capturing him.

The two go on a big ship, George being sad but still curious. The Man gets George out of the bag and tells him that The Man is taking him to a big zoo in a big city and asks George not to get in trouble. George promises but sees seagulls and tries to fly like them. He falls into the water, struggling to swim, and the ship's crew saves him by throwing him a lifebelt. After a long trip, The Man and George reach land and go to The Man's home. After having a meal and smoking a pipe, George becomes tired and falls asleep in his bed in large, human-sized pajamas.

The next morning, The Man telephones the zoo. When he leaves, George, being curious, uses the telephone. He dials the numbers on the phone over and over again.

George (with the phone) dials the numbers continuously. However, he made a false fire alarm and telephoned the fire station. When George says nothing to the firemen, they think there is a fire. And the map locates George's signal. The firefighters forget that it was George and thought it was a real fire.

After the signal highlights George's location on the map, the firemen rush on their fire engines to The Man's house. When the firemen find no fire, they arrest him for the false alarm. They tell George that since he fooled the fire department they will have to shut him up in a prison where he cannot do anymore harm.

George wanted to get out so he climbed up to the window to try the bars. At that moment, a watchman comes in and climbs on a wooden bed to catch George by trying to get him down. However he's heavy that the bed tips over and he falls over against the wall, stalling him. George is able to slip past and escape through the open door and climbs onto the roof, walking across the power lines above a guard's head.

He finds a man selling balloons; wanting a red balloon, George tries to grab it but accidentally grabs all the balloons instead. The wind blows the balloons and George away over the big city (from his view, the houses and people looked like toy houses and dolls, respectively), then he lands on a traffic light pole. The Man sees George from his car, and George slides down the pole into his arms. The Man pays the balloon man for the balloons, and then drives George to his wonderful new home at the zoo.

Reception

Sales and republication

Five years after the book's publication, Houghton Mifflin almost stopped printing the book due to its low demand, but it later became much more popular. [6] Since its publishing, the book has never gone out of print and has sold over 25 million copies. [3] The book has been published in paperback, hardcover, pop-up book, [7] and audiobook. [8]

Critical commentary

Curious George has received many positive reviews from critics as well as a few negative ones. Critic David Mehegan of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel argues that children should understand that Curious George’s curiosity does get him into a lot of trouble, such as when he floats away on the balloons, but his curiosity makes life more interesting. Ultimately, children relate to this character because he, like them, "impulsively breaks commonsense rules set by grown-ups in a desire to understand the marvelous new world around him". [9]

Critic Shannon Maughan of Publishers Weekly claims this book can be used by teachers to help promote conservation of forests and the species inside of them. [8] The Reys have also published more books relating to conservation efforts and environmental awareness including Curious George Plants a Seed in 2007 and Curious George Plants a Tree in 2010.[ citation needed ]

In author Rivka Gachen's New Yorker piece, she found contradictory parallels in Curious George to the Middle Passage and the "reassuring and almost fantastical sense of wealth". Gachen claims the idea that a monkey being taken from Africa and almost drowning in the Atlantic Ocean can be very closely paralleled with the Middle Passage. On the other hand, the material goods that George receives once he arrives in America contradict these original ideas. [10]

Accolades

Curious George was a finalist for induction into the American Booksellers Association Indies Choice Book Awards Picture Book Hall of Fame in 2009, 2010, and 2011.[ citation needed ] In 2012, the book was officially inducted into the Hall. [4]

School Library Journal included the book at #41 on their Top 100 Picture Books list in 2012. [11]

Analysis

Professor and children's literature scholar June Cummins assesses Curious George from a postcolonial perspective, arguing that many elements of story parallel African slave-captivity narratives (such as George's capture and journey across the Atlantic reflecting the horrors of the Middle Passage) and treat George as a colonial subject. In this way, Cummins concludes, the Curious George series portrays and excuses both imperialism and colonialism, and reflects the cultural ambivalence that many Americans display towards the nation's history of slavery. [12]

In her book tracing themes of racism, colonialism, and American exceptionalism in the Curious George series, author Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre also argues for a postcolonial reading of Curious George and contends that the series should be framed as a "classic example of colonial children's literature". She discusses George as an agent of Americanization who is used to promote insidious notions of American exceptionalism, yet is protected from critique as a beloved and nostalgic cultural icon of childhood adventure and naiveté. [13]

Authors

Main articles: Margret Rey and H. A. Rey

Curious George & Friends bookstore, Harvard Square, 2007 HarvardSquare27June07CuriousGeorge.jpg
Curious George & Friends bookstore, Harvard Square, 2007

Margret Elizabeth Rey (May 16, 1906 – December 21, 1996) and her husband Hans Augusto "H.A." Rey (September 16, 1898 – August 26, 1977) met each other in Brazil and then moved to Paris. After moving several places to escape the Nazis, they settled down in New York. [14] [15]

It was here that they wrote Curious George and seven other books about him including Curious George Takes a Job, which won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1960. Having been raised in the cosmopolitan city of Hamburg (and its suburb Altona) and later spending time in England, Brazil, and France, the Rey's were both polyglots, with Margret achieving fluency in three languages and Hans in "no fewer than four". Professor Yulia Komska notes that, despite the authors' self-professed multilingual backgrounds, the Curious George series is monolingual and features a monkey who cannot speak. [5]

The Reys moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1963, in a house near Harvard Square, and lived there until Hans's death in 1977. A children's bookstore named Curious George & Friends (formerly Curious George Goes to Wordsworth) was started in the 1990s by friends of the Reys, and operated in the Square until 2011. [16] A new store opened in 2012 at the same address, called The World's Only Curious George Store - Harvard Square. In June 2019, this new store closed. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. A. Rey</span> Childrens illustrator and writer (1898–1977)

H. A. Rey was a German-born American illustrator and author, known best for the series of children's picture books that he and his wife Margret Rey created about Curious George.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margret Rey</span> Childrens illustrator and writer (1906–1996)

Margret Elizabeth Rey was a German-born American writer and illustrator, best known for the Curious George series of children's picture books that she and her husband H. A. Rey created from 1939 to 1966.

<i>The Cat in the Hat</i> 1957 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

The Cat in the Hat is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house of Sally and her brother one rainy day when their mother is away. Despite the repeated objections of the children's fish, the Cat shows the children a few of his tricks in an attempt to entertain them. In the process, he and his companions, Thing One and Thing Two, wreck the house. As the children and the fish become more alarmed, the Cat produces a machine that he uses to clean everything up and disappears just before the children's mother comes home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curious George</span> Childrens picture book character

Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written and illustrated by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet monkey</span> Monkey kept as a pet

A pet monkey is a monkey kept as a pet. Monkeys are beloved for their entertainment value, resemblance to humans, and human-like abilities, but the practice of keeping monkeys as pets is criticized by primatologists and zoologists due to issues surrounding conservation, the animals' welfare, and public health and safety.

<i>Curious George</i> (film) 2006 animated film directed by Matthew OCallaghan

Curious George is a 2006 animated adventure film based on the book series written by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey. It was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, written by Ken Kaufman and produced by Ron Howard, David Kirschner, and Jon Shapiro. Featuring the voices of Frank Welker, Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, and Dick Van Dyke, it tells the story of how the Man with the Yellow Hat, a tour guide at a museum, first befriended a curious monkey named George and started going on adventures with him around the city while attempting to save the museum from closure.

Mark London Williams is an American author, playwright, journalist, and creator of the Golden Duck-nominated, Los Angeles Times Bestselling young adult time travel series Danger Boy, and author of Max Random and the Zombie 500.

<i>Curious George Flies a Kite</i> Book written by Margaret Rey and illustrated by H. A. Rey

Curious George Flies a Kite is a children's book written for beginning readers by Margret Rey, illustrated by H. A. Rey, and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1958. It is the fifth book in the original Curious George series and the only one the Reys did not write together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curious George Cottage</span>

Curious George Cottage was the summer home of H.A. Rey and Margret Rey, creators of the Curious George series of children’s books, located in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.

<i>Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys</i> Childrens short story by H.A. Rey

Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys is a 1939 children's short story written and illustrated by German-American author H. A. Rey. It is the first story to feature Rey's now-famous character, Curious George. When it was first published in France, Cecily's original name was Rafi, but when it appeared in the United States, the character was renamed Cecily.

<i>Curious George Takes a Job</i>

Curious George Takes a Job is a children's book written and illustrated by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1947. It is the second of the Curious George books and tells the story of George taking a job as a window washer.

<i>Curious George Rides a Bike</i> Book by H. A. Rey

Curious George Rides a Bike is a children's book written and illustrated by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1952. It is the third book of the original Curious George series and tells the story of George's new bicycle and his experiences performing with an animal show.

<i>Curious George Goes to the Hospital</i>

Curious George Goes to the Hospital is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1966. It is the seventh and final book in the original Curious George series, and tells the story of George's experiences in a hospital after swallowing a jigsaw puzzle piece.

<i>Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey!</i> 2009 American film

Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! is a 2009 American animated adventure comedy film based on the Curious George children's stories by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey. The sequel to the 2006 film Curious George, it was originally subtitled Monkey on the Run. It was released straight to DVD in the United States and theatrically in Denmark, Sweden, and Iceland.

<i>Curious George Gets a Medal</i> 1957 book by H. A. Rey

Curious George Gets a Medal is a George book written and illustrated by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1957. It is the fourth book in the original Curious George series, and tells the story of George's flight into space. The story was published only weeks before the Soviets launched Sputnik II and Rey wanted to share his interests in space travel with children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Peterson</span> American author (born 1944)

Dale Peterson is an American author who writes about scientific and natural history subjects.

<i>Curious George Learns the Alphabet</i> 1963 childrens book by Margret & H. A. Rey

Curious George Learns the Alphabet is a children's book written and illustrated by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1963. It is the sixth book in the original Curious George series.

<i>Curious George</i> (franchise) Media series

Curious George is an American media franchise based on the animated television series of the same name by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey. The series began with the theatrical release of the first film in 2006. The film's success led it to receiving direct-to-video sequels, a television series as well as a video game.

Gene (Eugene) Zion was an American author of picture books.

Curious George is a 1984 short stop-motion animated children's film, and is based on H. A. Rey's 1941 book of the same name. The film is directed by John Matthews and was produced by Churchill Films. The company also produced Curious George Goes to the Hospital two years prior in 1982. The two films are often paired together and collectively called The Adventures of Curious George.

References

  1. ↑ Eisenberg, Rebecca (14 May 2014). "Language Time with Curious George". Leader Live. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
  2. 1 2 "Curious About George?". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Curious About George?". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Indies Choice Book Awards / E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards". the American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  5. 1 2 3 Komska, Yuliya (2018). "Why Curious George Did Not Speak: The Conspicuous Multilingualism of Margret and H.A. Rey". German Studies Review. 41 (3): 505–528. doi:10.1353/gsr.2018.0091. S2CID   165257918. Project MUSE   707208 ProQuest   2130839087.
  6. ↑ Dirda, Michael (6 September 2016). "Curious George turns 75: Why the monkey and the Man in the Yellow Hat endure". Washington Post.
  7. ↑ Marion, Allison; Peacock, Scot (September 1989). "Children's Literature Review". School Library Journal. 35 (13): 164 – via Gale Literature Resource Center.[ verification needed ]
  8. 1 2 Maughan, Shannon (19 April 1993). "Audio reviews -- Curious George by H. A. Rey". Publishers Weekly. 240 (16): 29. ProQuest   196986980.
  9. ↑ Mehegan, David (27 December 1996). "'Curious George' creators thrilled children, bedeviled critics Margaret and H.A. Rey's books had simple formula". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 7. ProQuest   260471122.
  10. ↑ "The Unexpected Profundity of Curious George". The New Yorker. 3 June 2019.
  11. ↑ Bird, Betsy (2012). "Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results". slj.com. Media Source Inc.
  12. ↑ Cummins, June (1 January 1997). "The Resisting Monkey: 'Curious George' Slave Captivity Narratives, and the Postcolonial Condition". ARIEL. 28 (1). ProQuest   194871785.
  13. ↑ Schwartz-DuPre, Rae Lynn (2021). Curious about George: Curious George, Cultural Icons, Colonialism, and US Exceptionalism. University Press of Mississippi. doi:10.2307/j.ctv249sfw6. ISBN   978-1-4968-3733-2. JSTOR   j.ctv249sfw6. S2CID   244828792.[ page needed ]
  14. ↑ "A curious tale of George's creators". The Boston Globe. September 17, 2005.
  15. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (13 September 2005). "How Curious George Escaped the Nazis". The New York Times.
  16. ↑ "Curious George bookstore in Harvard Sq. to close". The Boston Globe. June 6, 2011.
  17. ↑ "The Curious George store is leaving Harvard Square for Central". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.