Literary Review

"Instantaneous identification of an author with a popular and well-known creation, in this case a curious monkey, is the hallmark of significant contribution. H. A. Rey and his collaborator wife, Margret, were so closely linked with Curious George that a disappointed child once said, "I thought you were monkeys too." The Curious George books have been translated into twelve different languages and boast sales in the millions. Curious George is presently in its twenty-seventh printing.

The Curious George books borrow thematically and structurally from cautionary beast fables, in which young animals are warned by a parent animal not to do something that will endanger them while the parent departs on some necessary errand. Usually this advice is ignored, with disastrous results, and the lesson is made clear to the child reader. In the Curious George books, curiosity is presented as an integral and unstoppable part of George's character which can be counted on to get him into innumerable scrapes. His attempts to remedy the accidents often lead him into even more confused situations where eventually he is either apprehended or saved, but never punished by humans. Instead, kindness and sometimes rewards are the results, because ultimately George's escapades benefit some other person or animal. Good intentions, even motivated by curiosity, lead to poetic justice."

"H. A. Rey ." American Writers for Children. 1960. Literature Resource Center.
Gale. Carondelet Lib.,Concord, CA. 30 Oct. 2007
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Question One

"The man picked him up quickly and popped him into a bag. George was caught."
Some readers feel George was kidnapped and unjustly removed from his native land. Do you agree? Do you think George would have been better off left in the jungle? Why or why not?

Question Two

The man in the yellow hat expects George to understand his new home with very little introduction. George's use of the telephone, a new concept for him, leads him to be taken to jail by the police. How does the man in the yellow hat contribute to George's escapades?

Question Three

In older editions of the book, the stories contain the phrase, "George was a good monkey, but very curious." In later editions, the phrase changes to, "George was a good monkey, and he was very curious." Why did the authors change the phrase?