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Curious George Original Adventures

The Curious George Complete Adventures: 70th Anniversary Edition

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“This is George. He lived in Africa. He was a good little monkey, and always very curious.” With these words, H. A. and Margret Rey introduced the world to Curious George in 1941, and the world has loved him ever since. The tales of this cheerful and resilient little hero have kept generations of readers enthralled and entertained. Now, in recognition of the sixtieth anniversary of his debut, Houghton Mifflin proudly presents a special edition of George’s best-loved adventures.With an introduction by critic Leonard Marcus, a retrospective note by publisher Anita Silvey, and a cataloged history of the Reys by curator Dee Jones, this collection offers a fun and fascinating portrait of a classic character and his unique creators.

432 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1969

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About the author

H.A. Rey

600 books217 followers
Hans 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.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 295 reviews
Profile Image for Zain.
1,902 reviews284 followers
January 5, 2022
Nostalgic!

I was four years old when I first read and I fell in love with the curious “monkey.”

It made plenty of sense that George could read and write, ride a bike and fly a kite. 🙃

Still, I had a great time thinking about my four-year-old self while reading this book.

I think I’ll find something else from those days.
Profile Image for Kathryn in FL.
716 reviews
July 27, 2021
I don't remember much about this story. I do remember repeatedly reading it in 1st grade maybe second as well. It definitely was one of the biggest influences in showing me my love for reading stories.
Please share this with your little ones, if you didn't read it yourself growing up.
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 9 books4,918 followers
December 28, 2015
I have to admit that my daughter loves George. We even got her the plushy of her favorite curious monkey to go along with the tv series, and every night, she still requires us to bring down this book and have her daddy read it to her. She loves to snuggle and hug my face and say, "It's okay daddy, it's okay," whenever George jumps too far and breaks his leg or when he flies away into the great blue, getting sad because he'll never see the Man in the Yellow Hat.

Little does my daughter know, but I every time I read these pages to her, I want to slip in little things, like the Man in the Yellow Hat is actually the King in Yellow from Carcossa, and George's other name is Damian from Omen.

George was always too curious, that's why he climbed out of hell to find the King in Yellow. He was always a good little monkey. If only he wasn't so curious, he wouldn't have brought that damn book back with him to corrupt the world....

(I don't really do this to my daughter, of course, but my horror roots do make me giggle with that familiar spark of furious and never-ending desperate glee.)
Profile Image for Emily.
64 reviews6 followers
July 29, 2008
As many of my friends know.... I lived with Margret Rey in her Cambridge, MA home in the early 90's, and remained a "girl finder" and good friend with her until her death in 1995. I'll not lay it all out today, but OOOHHH the stories to tell about life with Margret. I believe she is Curious George! You know, she actually looked like him? She told me her husband Hans who was the illustrator for the books slightly made him look like her. I can attest, it is true, especially the nose. :0

I don't have my books in front of my right now, but one day I will page through and try and remember all the funny things she told me and things I noticed that resemble their lives. Just a few from memory: Always a black or black and white cocker spaniel dog in the book. They always had one. If my memory serves me, it was a woman, Margret in the books walking the dog. Always a black man in the books, a good friend of theirs. In the kitchen in one of the books George is sitting on a red dictionary. She always had that red dictionary in her kitchen. One of my prized possessions is a dictionary Margret gave to me. During the holidays her publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. would always send a gift. That year they sent two, and she gave me one. Inside she affectionately wrote: For Emily: To stimulate and improve her mind. Then in her "signature" signature, she drew with a black sharpie pen "with (then she drew a heart and filled it in with a neon orange hi lite marker)from Margret Rey.

More later.... the best part of it is my boys LOVE these books. Their favorite is Curious George Goes to the Hospital. Peter has it memorized.
Profile Image for Jasmine.
212 reviews30 followers
July 2, 2019
As a child, I LOVED Curious George. Curious George will always be near and dear to my heart, although as an adult re-reading the books, I am shocked how disturbing the first book is -- the man with the yellow hat kidnaps George from Africa and puts him in a zoo! How horrible! Also, when George accidentally calls the fire station, they put him in jail for a false alarm. George is a MONKEY! If anyone deserves to be punished, it's the man with the yellow hat! Also, why would children be buying balloons right outside of a prison? The other books aren't much better, either.

In the second book, Curious George Takes a Job, George is put to work washing windows. While washing windows, he sees an apartment being painted, and when the painters leave, he goes into the apartment and paints the room and furniture to look like the jungle, complete with an image of himself swinging from trees. Not only is George very talented, but he clearly misses his home in Africa. He, of course, gets in trouble and breaks his leg as a result of being chased by a mob of angry people. (Personally, I'd be too impressed with a monkey painting such an amazing scene to be angry.) If anyone should get in trouble, it should be the elevator man who gave a window washing job to a MONKEY! And then once his leg heals, he is knocked out when he opens a bottle of ether, which is lying right out in the open, unsecured! What a negligent hospital with a lawsuit waiting to happen.

In Curious George Rides a Bike, the lazy paper boy gives George his newspapers to deliver, and instead of delivering all the papers, George turns them into paper boats. He is then kidnapped to be in an animal show when the director of the show sees him riding his bike. Before the show, chaos ensues when an ostrich nearly chokes to death on George's bugle -- a bugle which was given to George by the show's director -- and as punishment, George is forbidden from participating in the show. However, all ends well when George rescues a baby bear that escaped, and the man with the yellow hat, who clearly couldn't have been too worried to find George missing when returned home, sees George in the show.

After a series of mishaps (which would not have occurred had the man with the yellow hat been supervising George), George ends up at a museum in Curious George Gets a Medal. Not knowing that a palm tree in the dinosaur exhibit is fake, George climbs up the tree to get a nut, and knocks everything over. Of course everyone is angry, and Professor Wiseman, the director of the museum, orders that George be locked up and sent to the zoo. However, just as George is being carried off in a cage, feeling suicidal ("He felt so ashamed he almost wished he were dead.."), the man with the yellow hat bursts in, with a letter addressed to George, from Professor Wiseman himself, asking George to participate in an extremely dangerous experiment -- to go in a spaceship and jump out, something that has never been attempted before. Professor Wiseman then coerces George into agreeing to the experiment, telling George, "Of course everything will be forgiven if you are willing to go." Good thing for the man in the yellow hat that George is agreeable to anything that is asked of him (washing windows, starring in a movie, delivering newspapers, and playing a bugle in an animal show, just to name a few things that have been asked of him), because that means all the destruction at the museum is forgiven!

Curious George Flies a Kite is a cute story, with George having a series of adventures and silly mishaps, and no one taking advantage of his good nature. However, the man with the yellow hat needs to learn some responsibility and ensure that George is properly supervised!

The last two books, Curious George Learns the Alphabet and Curious George Goes to the Hospital are harmless stories as well, and the man with the yellow hat is finally showing some responsibility and is properly caring for George.

Despite the disturbing incidents that happen in half the stories, I'm still a fan of the original books, and a big reason is due to the illustrations -- I just love them. (I cannot stand the modern illustrations -- they are absolutely horrible!)
Profile Image for Nathan Mckinney.
55 reviews
January 18, 2016
I don't fully understand what kids find so appealing about these stories, but Watson was fully engrossed in every single one. It kind of drives me crazy a little how no matter how bad he messes things up, in the end it's all fine, because he didn't intend any harm. He was just curious. It cracks me up how critical I've become of children's media. I am totally my mother's son.
678 reviews20 followers
June 23, 2018
This Barnes and Noble collectible edition is so charming! The illustrations are very cute and I love the map on the inside cover that displays “The World of Curious George.” This volume contains six Curious George books that were originally published between 1941 and 1963. (Since I never read these as a kid, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting familiar with this classic monkey!)
Profile Image for John Yelverton.
4,449 reviews40 followers
October 21, 2011
One of the greatest children's books ever written. A fantastic read for young, curious boys especially.
Profile Image for Dee.
318 reviews
Read
August 21, 2022
These books sure hit differently as an adult :-D I can see why I loved them so much while at the same time, as an adult, I see things in that that aren't that great. Like how the man in the big yellow hat took George from the jungle in the first place, which I recall being bothered a bit by as a child but sort of happy he did it because we got to see all of George's adventures. I do remember hoping that in one of the books, George would get to go back to the jungle, but alas, in the original seven stories anyway, he never did except for a fake movie set jungle!

Rereading these books, I am amazed how I remembered every single one (I *did* read them over and over as a kid so maybe it's not that amazing!), though the one where he learns the alphabet was always my least favorite because I already knew the alphabet when I read the book. My favorite book was when he rode his bike and the illustrations taught readers how to make paper boats. I have a great memory of my father teaching my youngest brother and me how to fold paper boats from newspapers, just like George had done in the book, using the illustrations in the book. I must have folded 1000s of paper boats since then, and I still fold boats from paper.

These books were written in a different time (do read about the author and illustrator - their stories are fascinating) and it shows. People smoked - something most children's books nowadays try not to depict. Even George smokes a pipe in the first book! There's the whole "let's take a young monkey from his home - yoink - and make him live in a zoo, where every animal is made to seem happy (a depiction still annoyingly happens in kids books. . .). There's a total of one Black person in the whole series, a patient in the children's hospital. And even as a kid I was amazed at all the things George got away with! He was NEVER punished no matter what he did! To a kid who was punished a lot even for small things and accidents, this was pretty major to read about!

However, I still see the appeal in these stories, the number one appeal being the unbridled curiosity that George brought to every new experience. Even if some experiences became scary and some landed George in difficult places (like the hospital even), he was always eager, curious, and open minded. That's a wonderful lesson for kids of all ages, even adult "kids." George also used problem solving from time to time. And every story had a real-life takeaway for readers, whether it was something practical like not to call firefighters if you don't have an actual emergency, to something empathetic and sweet like making sick kids laugh.

------------------

Read as part of my new "Settle back Sunday" initiative where I take advantage of access to children's books I can borrow and give back. When I was a kid, the weekly trips to our town library were some of the few things I loved about my childhood. And the pile of books mom would bring home, from picture books to chapter books, were the things that got me through many a terrible time.
Profile Image for Christine Bryant.
11 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2025
I don’t normally count the books I read to the kids, but I thought it’d be appropriate after reading this 422 page book several times.
Profile Image for Abbey Chatelain.
31 reviews
March 9, 2025
My son got this as a birthday present and we read it together in one day! Just wanted to add it to Goodreads since it felt much longer than our usual children’s books ;) five stars for the happy mom moment!!!
Profile Image for Abi.
54 reviews
August 15, 2011
Believe it or not, this is the first book i ever got as a gift. I was about 4 years old, and my sister and i were walking around this book fair. I remember asking my mom if i could buy a book, and she said no since i couldn't read yet at that time and i would probably massacre the book by the end of the week... so, like any sensible kid would do who wanted something and didn't get it, i threw a tantrum. But, unlike other parents, mine are able to diffuse a tantrum in less than a minute. And then, out of the blue, a strange man walks up to us, takes a yellow book, asked for my name, opens it and then started writing something, and then said that i could have it for free. Then, he gave me the book, smiled and turned away. We went home that night and i asked my mom what it says, she said that the man told her not to tell me. So, a couple of years later, when i finally learned to read, my mom gave me the book, and i've treasured it ever since.

on the book it says, "To Abi, who is as curious as George"
Profile Image for Bethany.
28 reviews
February 13, 2012
my hatred of monkeys may very well be traced back to this book.
Profile Image for Wendy.
1,052 reviews22 followers
May 14, 2023
Historical Trivia: The Reys fled Paris France as the Germans invaded. There were no ways of transportation such as cars, trains. They found a tandem bicycle which they couldn't manage. Hans rebuilt them into 2 and rode to safety with the manuscript of Curious George. Further, as they were Jewish, they changed their names.
Profile Image for Chrystal.
1,011 reviews63 followers
November 4, 2023
This collection of the Curious George books also contains a biography of Margret and Hans Rey, the creators of the adorable little monkey who has been a delight to many generations of readers, both young and old.
Profile Image for Sean McReynolds.
26 reviews
April 27, 2024
My Great Aunt Lorraine and Great Uncle Al gave this book to me for Christmas and wrote this message in it “To Sean: the other Curious George. From Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Al Christmas 1998”
Profile Image for John.
82 reviews
August 30, 2020
"Perhaps the best children's book I have ever read."
Profile Image for Mwongeli .
146 reviews1 follower
December 22, 2023
Curious George is lucky he's a monkey and not a cat.

Turns out the story about George visiting the hospital was to help kids learn what to expect the first time they go to a hospital and has helped many kids shed their fears regarding hospitals.

I like that the book is not only entertaining but useful and has a whole section on the lives of the authors, which I found enlightening.
28 reviews
February 28, 2008
Don't even think that I couldn't add this to my list. Curious George was, in fact, an imaginary friend when I was a child living in Boston. Now I own a Margaret Rey signed copy of this Curious George anthology (thanks to my mother and Mary Knell), and it is a book that travels with me (and has to be enjoyed by children--only when they are supervised and have no sticky hands!).
Profile Image for Melissa Snyder.
98 reviews1 follower
May 3, 2010
My six year old son likes this book. It works very well for someone who is just learning to read. He finds them entertaining and funny which encourages him to read. The large print and simple words are also a plus.
Profile Image for Kate.
Author 2 books23 followers
Read
December 21, 2014
Normally, I'm a big fan of the book over the movie, but I actually like the PBS cartoon better than the original stories simply from a political correctness standpoint. My kids don't care though, they love George in any form the can find him.
Profile Image for Gavin.
1,265 reviews89 followers
August 15, 2015
Yay!

George rules.

I read aloud to my nieces, especially the 6yr old. She was captivated.

These are fun great stories, even if the age shows in some things.

A blast, for sure, glad I picked it up.
Profile Image for Brandice.
1,269 reviews
May 12, 2015
One of my childhood favorites!
Profile Image for Luci.
225 reviews5 followers
December 19, 2024
Enjoyed reading this to my middle. He really sympathized with George. Illustrations are a feast!
Profile Image for Lady reading under the Willow.
1,331 reviews23 followers
June 29, 2023
All seven of the original Curious George stories are featured in this one volume. As is the nature of treasuries, it's a bit weighty and bulky, which makes it difficult for a small child to hold alone. The two included CDs have readings of each story, which are a hit with the resident toddler of this house!

Having grown up with vinyl records/books-on-tapes, my only beef with the discs is that they do not include a chime or any sort of signal to turn the page! So this is definitely a book/CD pair to enjoy together with your child (in which case, you might as well read the stories aloud yourself) until he can read alone and follow along with the CD.
Profile Image for Victor The Reader.
1,905 reviews24 followers
May 9, 2019
A delightful treasury of the seven original tales of the lovable and mischievously curious monkey named George 🐒 we’ve all read a few times. It’s also interesting how George’s curiosity and behavior reminds us of how we were curious little monkeys ourselves as kids🎈 🚲 🧩 (Grade: A).
Profile Image for Debby Tiner.
574 reviews10 followers
February 19, 2024
This book is nostalgic for me, as I had several Curious George books growing up. However, this collection had some stories I had never read before, as well as extra information that I remember enjoyed about the author and context of when it was written.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 295 reviews

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