[.ca] Curious George (ISBN 0233001484)

From Amazon.com:
As the introduction explains, the watercolor paintings that accompany this special edition of the very first Curious George story made their way out of Paris on the back of Hans Rey's bicycle, as he and his wife, Margaret, narrowly escaped the German occupation. By way of Spain and Brazil, Rey and his work came to the United States, where cash-strapped children's publishers always required "color separation" art--i.e., a different drawing for each color. So Rey's watercolors were not used, and for subsequent books he never even did them; only now, for the first time, has that first set been used directly. Otherwise, it's the story you probably already know, though a bit more luxuriously produced, about how Curious George came to make life a lot more interesting for the Man in the Yellow Hat. (Ages 3 to 8) --Richard Farr

great choice:
In this book curious george goes on an adventure and gets into a little bit of trouble, as always! Read this book and get lost in the journey with the man in the yellow hat, george, and many other unsuspecting people in this book, I like it!

People, It's a children's book:
Nothing is sacred to the spectre of political correctness, so the negative reviews of "Curious George" shouldn't surprise me. The reviews likening George's story to the African slave trade are particularly puzzling: children do not think in those terms. I suggest that the folks who complain that it glorifies illegal animal trade read it more closely. George makes a lot of innocent mistakes, he doesn't mean to be bad, but the world is too fascinating for him to resist. He needs to have an authority figure looking out for him, and although he does try to get around the authority figure everyone knows the man with the yellow hat will save George from himself in the end. Yes, George is a monkey, but he is also a metophor for children everywhere. Every child in the world can relate to George, and that is why the books have remained popular for so long. I loved Curious George as a child, and I am happy that my children love them as much as I do. If any book in the 4-8 age bracket deserves 5 stars it is Curious George.

One of My Favorite Books When I Was A Child!:
When I was a child in the 1970's I loved The Curious George books by H.A. Rey and this is the very first book in the series and it is a very entertaining book about an adorable monkey named George who's curiosity gets him into all sorts of adventures and trouble. I checked this book out all the time from the public library and from the bookmobile that used to come to my school and I was very happy when I was finaly given my own copy to keep and I very highly recommend this cute book and all the rest of the books in The Curious George series!

Made me physically ill to read this book.:
How anyone could like this book is really beyond me. This book should stay a relic of the past. My 4 year old picked this book out at the library and I read it to her. I really didn't remember the story. I was sick. Little George is kidnapped just because some man took a fancy to him, put in a bag and tied up and taken half way around the world to be imprisoned in a zoo?! How horrible. How can you explain to a little child about being tied up in a sack, first of all? Also, he goes to JAIL for making mistake by summoning the fire dept in error? This is also terrifying. Oh yes, he smokes too, but that seems to be the least of all of the horrors. Just because it's old doesn't mean its good.

Curiouser and curiouser:
The world's most famous literary monkey. I hadn't read "Curious George" in years, and I was admittedly a little hesitant to do so when I saw the copyright date. 1941. Now due to the fact that George is originally from Africa, I had a sneaking fear and suspicion that there would be some terrible racist images to contend with. Imagine my surprise when I found that, as it happens, not a single horrid stereotype appears! Just the same, I have to point out that at the same time not a single positive stereotype appears either. This is a book bereft of people with skin that isn't white as newly driven snow. Bear this in mind. Curious George does his darndest to live up to his name. A naughty little monkey, he is swiftly captured in Africa by the Man in the Yellow Hat (one prays he's no relation to "Tuck Everlasting"'s Man in the Yellow Suit). George is taken from his jungle paradise en route to the zoo. Along the way, George has a series of wild adventures. He takes a dip in the ocean (throwing up an amazing amount of saltwater and fish while he's rescued). He calls the fire department and is jailed. He escapes and flies around, balloons in hand. In the end, George is reunited with the Man in the Yellow Hat (who, despite the damage George has inflicted on the world and its civil servants, compensates only the balloon man). In the final parting shot of George, the monkey is happily ensconced in his new zoo life with the caption, "What a nice place for George to live!" This is definitely a pro-zoo book. Personally, I've always been kind of taken with The Man in the Yellow Hat. Who the heck is this guy? Apparently he's a jaunty world adventurer with a penchant for monkeys. Most interesting is his striking resemblance to the pop on "Father Knows Best", pipe stuck squarely between his teeth, wise countenance advising his monkey ward. He isn't the best monkey watcher. Some might even argue that he's a bit lax in his attention, but he gets the job done. And you just gotta love the hat. Faaaabulous hat, yellow guy. All in all, it's a fine story. For kids who're interested in either monkeys or fiascos, this is a good monkey/fiasco tale. I'm a fiasco fan myself, so this book suits me fine. It's not, admittedly, my favorite but it has its charms.