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Curious George Makes Maple Syrup
Sunday is pancake day, and no plate of pancakes is complete without maple syrup. But when George runs out of his favorite topping, where will he find more? With the help of his friends Allie and Mr. Renkins, George learns how to turn sap from maple trees into his very own bottle of sweet, delicious syrup!
24 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 2014
About the author
H.A. Rey
601 books220 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 3, 2015
My 3 year old loves Curious George. He watches all TV shows on all 6 seasons on Netflix. He watches many reruns on TV. And I read him some books that I can find at the library. He learns a lot from it. Great series, books and TV shows.
October 10, 2024
George and the man in the yellow hat run out of maple syrup. When the man tells George that syrup comes from trees, he wants to run out and get some. But George soon learns it isn't that quick or simple.
It's hard to find books on the maple syrup making process for kids, and this does a pretty good job of showing the various steps and clarifying which trees the typical pancake syrup comes from. It's educational but still entertaining. The back of the book also has some fall activity ideas for young kids.
It's hard to find books on the maple syrup making process for kids, and this does a pretty good job of showing the various steps and clarifying which trees the typical pancake syrup comes from. It's educational but still entertaining. The back of the book also has some fall activity ideas for young kids.
July 30, 2019
100 stars. Because it tells you about how to make maple syrup. In the winter living on the farm and knocking on the tree. It is not syrup right away. You have to go to the sugar shack and boil it and then it will taste like real maple syrup. Hope. It was real content in this book. Surprised.
March 23, 2018
ジョージがメープルシロップを作ることに奮闘します。
木を探して、煮詰めて、食べるところまでのストーリー。
アニメバージョンより少し短縮されてしまっている絵本。
木を探して、煮詰めて、食べるところまでのストーリー。
アニメバージョンより少し短縮されてしまっている絵本。
January 12, 2022
Read to my niece and nephew after a trip to the Library in January 2022.
January 10, 2024
Teaches the reader how maple syrup is made. Good activities for collecting and identification leaves.
January 18, 2020
The newer Curious George books sometimes use too big of words, so that's good and bad, because it pushes kids farther in their reading, comprehension, and language skills. The art isn't as good as the older ones, so that's bad. They usually are instructional, so that's good. But they change the format from the old books, so that's.... something. They usually have a game/craft at the end, so that's good.
February 26, 2017
Read in a 2nd grade classroom, with a sample of maple syrup to taste. This book teaches a lot about maple syrup and how it is made, taught through the eyes of their beloved character. Delightful story.
January 11, 2016
Synopsis: "Sunday is pancake day, and no plate of pancakes is complete without maple syrup. But when George runs out of his favorite topping, where will he find more? With the help of his friends Allie and Mr. Renkins, George learns how to turn sap from maple trees into his very own bottle of sweet, delicious syrup!"
My Review: So I picked this book up for Munchkin while in Vermont at a maple sugary (where they make syrup). This book gives only the briefest overview of how syrup is made, I would have liked it to have mentioned the time of year that the trees were tapped. But Munchkin of course still loved George's antics and of course all the talk of pancakes and maple syrup.
My Review: So I picked this book up for Munchkin while in Vermont at a maple sugary (where they make syrup). This book gives only the briefest overview of how syrup is made, I would have liked it to have mentioned the time of year that the trees were tapped. But Munchkin of course still loved George's antics and of course all the talk of pancakes and maple syrup.
October 25, 2014
I thought this one would be good and about Vermont, and it was kind of interesting with some facts. But it was too many words and the pictures looked like they came from a DVD. So I don't know. We need to find SOME kind of fact book about syrup instead of just a kid's story.
George books are supposed to be pretty good but I don't know WHAT was wrong with THIS one. I've read some good ones of his but I wasn't impressed.
George books are supposed to be pretty good but I don't know WHAT was wrong with THIS one. I've read some good ones of his but I wasn't impressed.
July 7, 2015
I wonder if we could write a how-to piece based on our learning from this story!
October 31, 2015
Current favourite of 2 year old. Family makes maple syrup each year, the story is very relateable.
April 12, 2016
Probably my favourite of the new Curious George books.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews