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Curious George Boxcar Derby
When George hears about the annual boxcar derby, there's no way he's going to miss out. George enlists the help of his friend Allie to build the winning boxcar. But the race is starting in just a few hours, and even with the help of Bill's instruction manual, building a car takes a lot of work. It’s a race to the race as they try to get all the right car parts in time to enter the competition. This adventure based on the Emmy Award-winning Curious George PBS TV show includes bonus activities to test the effect of gravity and help reinforce the names and functions of different car parts. Find more monkey fun at !
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
24 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2016
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 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 17, 2023
Have you ever had a bike race down the hill on Inkster Avenue when you were four years old? If not, you're lucky. It's an experience you should try to avoid, believe you me. It's a messy situation that's both dangerous and illegal.
I got in this mess because my best friend's parents bought a summer cottage on Gull Lake Island, so I ended up riding my bike around with Mark and his sister, instead of playing football with my best friend.
So I was riding around with Mark and Jane on the day after the Soapbox Derby. While we rode around, we talked about how much fun it had been to watch the Soapbox Derby. Those races gave Mark a brilliant idea. Mark said, "Let's race down Inkster Avenue hill on our bikes."
I said, "I don't know, Mark. Inkster's got a lot of traffic."
Mark said, "Let's vote on it." We voted, and I lost the vote two to one.
We then peddled our bikes to the top of Inkster Hill and waited until there was no traffic. Then we raced down the middle of the avenue just as fast as we could go. It was great fun until suddenly cars started turning onto the avenue from every which way. Soon there was lots of brake screeching, horns blowing, and bikes slamming into curbs. It was scary, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
Us three kids gathered on the sidewalk with our bikes, and Mark said, "Wasn't that fun!"
I screamed, "Fun? We almost got killed! We could have died."
Mark replied, "That would have been okay for Jane and me because we're going to Heaven when we die. We're not going to Hell like you."
Since I'd never heard of Hell before, I retorted, "Oh, yeah!" I then hopped on my bike and rode home. I was going to have my mom straighten out this business about Hell.
Unfortunately for me, someone had telephoned my mom about our little bike race down Inkster Hill.
As soon as I opened the front door, my mom said, "Young man, why were you riding your bike in the middle of the street on Inkster Hill? You could have been killed!"
"It wasn't my fault," I answered. "It was Mark's idea."
"Maybe so, but you're the one who's going to spend the rest of the day alone in your room. And you're the one who's definitely not going to be riding his bike for the next two weeks."
I decided not to ask Mom about Hell right then for fear she'd go ahead and send me there.
About supper time, Mom came to my room and told me: "Two wrongs don't make a right. I don't care what Mark says or does, I care what you do and say. I expect you to make me proud."
From then on, whenever I wasn't sure what to do, I'd ask myself, "What would Mom want me to do?"
Mom stuck to her guns all her live-long days and never changed her tune. Not even when we moved from Rose Street to Crane Avenue.
I got in this mess because my best friend's parents bought a summer cottage on Gull Lake Island, so I ended up riding my bike around with Mark and his sister, instead of playing football with my best friend.
So I was riding around with Mark and Jane on the day after the Soapbox Derby. While we rode around, we talked about how much fun it had been to watch the Soapbox Derby. Those races gave Mark a brilliant idea. Mark said, "Let's race down Inkster Avenue hill on our bikes."
I said, "I don't know, Mark. Inkster's got a lot of traffic."
Mark said, "Let's vote on it." We voted, and I lost the vote two to one.
We then peddled our bikes to the top of Inkster Hill and waited until there was no traffic. Then we raced down the middle of the avenue just as fast as we could go. It was great fun until suddenly cars started turning onto the avenue from every which way. Soon there was lots of brake screeching, horns blowing, and bikes slamming into curbs. It was scary, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
Us three kids gathered on the sidewalk with our bikes, and Mark said, "Wasn't that fun!"
I screamed, "Fun? We almost got killed! We could have died."
Mark replied, "That would have been okay for Jane and me because we're going to Heaven when we die. We're not going to Hell like you."
Since I'd never heard of Hell before, I retorted, "Oh, yeah!" I then hopped on my bike and rode home. I was going to have my mom straighten out this business about Hell.
Unfortunately for me, someone had telephoned my mom about our little bike race down Inkster Hill.
As soon as I opened the front door, my mom said, "Young man, why were you riding your bike in the middle of the street on Inkster Hill? You could have been killed!"
"It wasn't my fault," I answered. "It was Mark's idea."
"Maybe so, but you're the one who's going to spend the rest of the day alone in your room. And you're the one who's definitely not going to be riding his bike for the next two weeks."
I decided not to ask Mom about Hell right then for fear she'd go ahead and send me there.
About supper time, Mom came to my room and told me: "Two wrongs don't make a right. I don't care what Mark says or does, I care what you do and say. I expect you to make me proud."
From then on, whenever I wasn't sure what to do, I'd ask myself, "What would Mom want me to do?"
Mom stuck to her guns all her live-long days and never changed her tune. Not even when we moved from Rose Street to Crane Avenue.
September 1, 2023
It’s nice sometimes to go back and read books you’ve read as a child….
February 28, 2017
Basic Plot: George and Allie decide to enter a boxcar race.
Meh. There was some exploration in the book, but not nearly the level of curiosity and discovery that one gets from a *good* Curious George book. It was based on one of the cartoon episodes, so my hopes weren't high to begin with, but sometimes these books can give a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, this one was merely tolerable.
Meh. There was some exploration in the book, but not nearly the level of curiosity and discovery that one gets from a *good* Curious George book. It was based on one of the cartoon episodes, so my hopes weren't high to begin with, but sometimes these books can give a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, this one was merely tolerable.
September 27, 2019
This book was so fun to read. If you are looking for an entertaining book about a fair competition this is the one for you. George becomes very curious when his friend informed him about the boxcar derby. He had always loved cars. He loved riding in them, washing them, playing with toys cars. George and his friend Allie liked to race the cars on the toy racetrack. They suddenly got told about a boxcar derby they could enroll in. Sure enough they did it and only had 2 hours to put a boxcar together! They ran a great race, enough though coming up as the runner up they were still very proud of the car they had build for the race. This book teaches good sportsmanship and was very easy to read and colorful.
January 16, 2022
Elliot loves Curious George. This story is adapted from the TV series, which Elliot loves watching clips on YouTube. George an his friend build a boxcar with spare parts.
Read-aloud recommendation: toddler and up
Read-aloud recommendation: toddler and up
May 17, 2022
5/16/22 Read with Julia and Andres
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews