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Curious George New Adventures
Curious George Plays Baseball
It's another hit for Curious George! But watch out! He's hitting balls all over the place! Adapted from the Curious George film series.
30 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Margret Rey
255 books122 followersMargret Elizabeth Rey (May 16, 1906 – December 21, 1996), born Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein, was (with her husband H. A. Rey), the co-author and illustrator of children's books, best known for their Curious George
Although she was born in Germany, she fled to Brazil early in her life to escape Nazism. While there, she met her future husband Hans (who was a salesman and also from Germany). They married in 1935 and moved to Paris, France that same year.
While in Paris, Hans's animal drawings came to the attention of French publisher, who commissioned him to write a children's book. The result, Rafi and the Nine Monkeys, is little remembered today, but one of its characters, an adorably impish monkey named Curious George, was such a success that the couple considered writing a book just about him. Their work was interrupted with the outbreak of World War II. As Jews, the Reys decided to flee Paris before the Nazis seized the city. Hans built two bicycles, and they fled Paris just a few hours before it fell. Among the meager possessions they brought with them was the illustrated manuscript of Curious George.
The Reys' odyssey brought them to the Spanish border, where they bought train tickets to Lisbon. From there they returned to Brazil, where they had met five years earlier, but this time they continued to New York, New York. The books were published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941, though certain changes had to be introduced because of the technology of the time. Hans and Margret originally planned to use watercolors to illustrate the books, but since they were responsible for the color separation, he changed these to the cartoon-like images that continue to feature in each of the books. (A collector's edition with the original watercolors was recently released.)
Curious George was an instant success, and the Reys were commissioned to write more adventures of the mischievous monkey and his friend, the Man in the Yellow Hat. They wrote seven stories in all, with Hans mainly doing the illustrations and Margret working mostly on the stories, though they both admitted to sharing the work and cooperating fully in every stage of development. At first, however, Margret's name was left off the cover, ostensibly because there was a glut of women already writing children's fiction. In later editions, this was corrected, and Margret now receives full credit for her role in developing the stories.
Margret and her husband moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1963, in a house close to Harvard Square. Following her husband's death in 1977, Margret continued writing, and in 1979, became a Professor of Creative Writing at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Starting in 1980, she also began to collaborate with Alan Shalleck on a series of short films featuring Curious George and more than two dozen additional books.
In 1989 Margret Rey established the Curious George Foundation to help creative children and prevent cruelty to animals. In 1996, she made major donations to the Boston Public Library and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She was also a long-time supporter of the Longy School of Music. The Reys spent twenty summers in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, to enable H.A. Rey to better observe the stars for his astronomy writing. They became an integral part of the Waterville community and their legacy is honored by The Margret and H.A. Rey Center and the Curious George Cottage located there.
Dr. Lena Y. de Grummond, a professor in the field of library science (specializing in children's literature) at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss. contacted the Reys in 1966 about the university's new children's literature collection. H.A. and Margret made a donation of a pair of sketches at the time. In 1996, after Margret's death, it was revealed in her will that the entire literary estate of the Reys were to be donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at Southern Miss.
Although she was born in Germany, she fled to Brazil early in her life to escape Nazism. While there, she met her future husband Hans (who was a salesman and also from Germany). They married in 1935 and moved to Paris, France that same year.
While in Paris, Hans's animal drawings came to the attention of French publisher, who commissioned him to write a children's book. The result, Rafi and the Nine Monkeys, is little remembered today, but one of its characters, an adorably impish monkey named Curious George, was such a success that the couple considered writing a book just about him. Their work was interrupted with the outbreak of World War II. As Jews, the Reys decided to flee Paris before the Nazis seized the city. Hans built two bicycles, and they fled Paris just a few hours before it fell. Among the meager possessions they brought with them was the illustrated manuscript of Curious George.
The Reys' odyssey brought them to the Spanish border, where they bought train tickets to Lisbon. From there they returned to Brazil, where they had met five years earlier, but this time they continued to New York, New York. The books were published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941, though certain changes had to be introduced because of the technology of the time. Hans and Margret originally planned to use watercolors to illustrate the books, but since they were responsible for the color separation, he changed these to the cartoon-like images that continue to feature in each of the books. (A collector's edition with the original watercolors was recently released.)
Curious George was an instant success, and the Reys were commissioned to write more adventures of the mischievous monkey and his friend, the Man in the Yellow Hat. They wrote seven stories in all, with Hans mainly doing the illustrations and Margret working mostly on the stories, though they both admitted to sharing the work and cooperating fully in every stage of development. At first, however, Margret's name was left off the cover, ostensibly because there was a glut of women already writing children's fiction. In later editions, this was corrected, and Margret now receives full credit for her role in developing the stories.
Margret and her husband moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1963, in a house close to Harvard Square. Following her husband's death in 1977, Margret continued writing, and in 1979, became a Professor of Creative Writing at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Starting in 1980, she also began to collaborate with Alan Shalleck on a series of short films featuring Curious George and more than two dozen additional books.
In 1989 Margret Rey established the Curious George Foundation to help creative children and prevent cruelty to animals. In 1996, she made major donations to the Boston Public Library and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She was also a long-time supporter of the Longy School of Music. The Reys spent twenty summers in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, to enable H.A. Rey to better observe the stars for his astronomy writing. They became an integral part of the Waterville community and their legacy is honored by The Margret and H.A. Rey Center and the Curious George Cottage located there.
Dr. Lena Y. de Grummond, a professor in the field of library science (specializing in children's literature) at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss. contacted the Reys in 1966 about the university's new children's literature collection. H.A. and Margret made a donation of a pair of sketches at the time. In 1996, after Margret's death, it was revealed in her will that the entire literary estate of the Reys were to be donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at Southern Miss.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 13, 2020
Arely and I read this book. The text is short and to the point. The illustrations are really detailed, artistic and fun. The kids seem to enjoy reading an occasional Curious George book, but they don't seem to be a favorite for them.
October 27, 2020
After the original seven books, it's difficult to find a good chronological list of the Curious George series, but I've got a backlog on these, so I guess I'll just go at them randomly. (It's been a while since I read this one and I don't have it in front of me, so my recollection may be off a bit.)
Some unspecified amount of time has passed since George may or may not have inadvertently killed a hospital wing full of children, and George and the poacher have settled down to a quieter life in the 'burbs. The poacher has decided to attend a little league baseball game and, once again, has inexplicably brought along a wild animal. The poacher is clearly there to pick up women. I guess he thought his pet monkey would help. Or not, because upon arrival, the poacher sees Jimmy's mom and promptly abandons his monkey to go mack on her. George predictably wanders off, up the ballgame, but all is forgiven when George defies any realistic physical or spatial sense and catches a fly ball hurtling toward Jimmy's mom, who is apparently incapable of moving six inches to her left or right. Note also that she is sitting alone.
This one was pretty much garbage. The art is bad (no longer drawn by H.A.), the story is bad, and there's really not much to recommend it, except for the subtle detail of the poacher getting shot down by Jimmy's mom.
Some unspecified amount of time has passed since George may or may not have inadvertently killed a hospital wing full of children, and George and the poacher have settled down to a quieter life in the 'burbs. The poacher has decided to attend a little league baseball game and, once again, has inexplicably brought along a wild animal. The poacher is clearly there to pick up women. I guess he thought his pet monkey would help. Or not, because upon arrival, the poacher sees Jimmy's mom and promptly abandons his monkey to go mack on her. George predictably wanders off, up the ballgame, but all is forgiven when George defies any realistic physical or spatial sense and catches a fly ball hurtling toward Jimmy's mom, who is apparently incapable of moving six inches to her left or right. Note also that she is sitting alone.
This one was pretty much garbage. The art is bad (no longer drawn by H.A.), the story is bad, and there's really not much to recommend it, except for the subtle detail of the poacher getting shot down by Jimmy's mom.
July 21, 2017
The story is cute enough, but I have a feeling the pictures were taken directly from the old films, and that was a little distracting to me. The fuzziness kinda hurt my eyes. Granted, I had a headache at the time, but that's not the point. Still, it has a nostalgic feel that would probably appeal to those with less sensitive eyes. :)
May 13, 2017
2* art
2* story
2* story
March 5, 2018
George goes to a baseball games and wants to play too.
April 29, 2020
George inadvertently joins a baseball game and wins it for the team!
April 30, 2020
My kids liked it when I read it to them.
July 9, 2022
Oh, ya know. Ya gotta keep a Curious George book about baseball.
March 9, 2019
We love Curious George books!
July 28, 2008
This isn't one of the original stories but is adapted from the Curious George film series, and I think the difference in quality shows, although it's still my daughter's favorite little monkey...
January 19, 2015
The Curious George books that are adapted from the film are mediocre at best.
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September 16, 2016Curious George joins the baseball team.
Currently Reading
January 30, 2009I love baseball and I'm going to be on a baseball team this spring.
April 27, 2010
its curious george!!! how can you not love CG?
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December 5, 2018The man with the yellow hat takes George to a friend's baseball game. Naturally, George wants to play as well. At first, he makes a mess of things, but by the end of the game he saves the day.
In a classroom, I would use this to talk about how even when things are going badly, they can still end well, and one can still make good decisions to fix the mistakes made.
In a classroom, I would use this to talk about how even when things are going badly, they can still end well, and one can still make good decisions to fix the mistakes made.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews