What do you think?
Rate this book
Curious George Good Night, Zoo
George is excited to visit the zoo to see the new baby panda -- but when he's accidentally locked into the zoo at night, how will he get out? George must find a way to navigate his way out of the zoo and back home where he belongs! Based on the Emmy Award-winning PBS show.
In this new 8 x 8 based on the Emmy Award–winning PBS show, Curious George can't wait to see the brand-new baby panda at the zoo. But when George accidentally gets locked into the zoo at night, he has to use maps, landmarks, and his animal instincts to find his way out! Bonus activities help reinforce the concepts in the story, including instructions for building your very own map of your home!
In this new 8 x 8 based on the Emmy Award–winning PBS show, Curious George can't wait to see the brand-new baby panda at the zoo. But when George accidentally gets locked into the zoo at night, he has to use maps, landmarks, and his animal instincts to find his way out! Bonus activities help reinforce the concepts in the story, including instructions for building your very own map of your home!
24 pages, Hardcover
Published January 15, 2019
4 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
H.A. Rey
601 books218 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 7, 2020
A cute story as George goes to the zoo by himself one day but stays too long and ends up locked in overnight. He has a fun adventure while learning some things at the same time. A sweet ending and a couple of fun activities included. I predict this will be a winner with my grandsons :)
September 15, 2021
I read this to Julianna tonight. She gives it a 5. Julianna liked curious george and All the different animals including the Flamingos. 😊😎
February 17, 2019
For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle
In all honesty, I hated Curious George growing up. He was always getting into trouble and making messes. What's worse, there wasn't really a consequence when he did something he shouldn't have. Most of the time, he was actually rewarded somehow. It drove me crazy as a kid and still does as an adult.
This was actually a pretty good Curious George story. I liked that George fixed what he messed up instead of being whisked off by the man with the yellow hat to leave someone else to clean up his mess as was so common in the old school Curious George books.
Illustrations were cute and feature a lot of zoo animals, which is always a plus.
As the end of the book, there is even a little activity for creating your own map. Overall, a fun book for Curious George fans.
In all honesty, I hated Curious George growing up. He was always getting into trouble and making messes. What's worse, there wasn't really a consequence when he did something he shouldn't have. Most of the time, he was actually rewarded somehow. It drove me crazy as a kid and still does as an adult.
This was actually a pretty good Curious George story. I liked that George fixed what he messed up instead of being whisked off by the man with the yellow hat to leave someone else to clean up his mess as was so common in the old school Curious George books.
Illustrations were cute and feature a lot of zoo animals, which is always a plus.
As the end of the book, there is even a little activity for creating your own map. Overall, a fun book for Curious George fans.
October 4, 2019
Curious George is so excited to see the new panda at the zoo he forgets to leave and when he tries to get out he accidently lets all the animals out of their cages. Can he use maps to help him get them all back home. Preschool and up
July 2, 2022
George is so fascinated by the new baby panda at the zoo that he stays until after closing time and is stuck in the zoo. While trying to find the right door to get out, he lets out all the animals and must return them back to their correct habitats. Based on a Curious George episode that Elliot’s seen, this is a fun book
March 6, 2019
The illustrations are simple and expressive...that was my favorite part of the book. The story felt contrived, and it didn't flow well.
April 19, 2019
Silly, but fun. Map-reading and matching activities at the back help make the story more connected to the reader.
October 28, 2020
I really want to remember to pull this book back out when I'm next doing mapping story time.
March 30, 2021
I mean, it’s fine, but also really not great. I have a big Curious George fan in my house though, so we’re asked to read this one on repeat.
May 9, 2022
5/8/22 Read with Julia
March 22, 2020
Curious George Good Night, Zoo is a picture book intended for Children 1-4. This book is based on the Emmy- award winning PBS show Curious George. In the Curious George story, George goes to the zoo to see the new baby panda that he has been watching the on live stream. He then stays all night and when he is trying to leave he accidently opens and unlocks all of the animal’s cages. I liked that George fixed what he messed up instead of just leaving when the man with the yellow hat came to get him and made someone else to clean up his mess. I gave this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars because they used a lot of colors to attract the reader’s attention and to intrigue them to keep reading. Illustrations were cute and feature a lot of zoo animals. I also really enjoyed how at the end of the book, there is a little activity for creating your own map. I do believe that this book would be appealing to young readers because they [young children] tend to like books with animals in them and like colorful pages in the books. When working with children I would introduce and read this book when we talk about maps and directions. I would have the children try and create their own map of a zoo and show me how they could leave the zoo at night when it is closing. After we read the book and make a map together I would, as a class, we would create a map of our classroom and school.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews