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Curious George New Adventures
Curious George and the Firefighters
It’s the formula for success for preschoolers—Curious George and fire trucks! Curious George and the Firefighters is a story based on H. A. and Margret Rey’s popular primate and painted in the original watercolor and charcoal style. Firefighters are a famously brave lot, but can they withstand a visit from one curious monkey? For more monkey fun, investigate and discover all the latest on Curious George books, promotions, games, activities, and more!
24 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1940
29 people are currently reading
491 people want to read
About the author
Margret Rey
232 books121 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 - 30 of 81 reviews
February 12, 2019
Your typical Curious George book where he gets into mischief but all is right in the end.
January 4, 2023
The kids love it
February 16, 2025
Talk about a hero!
April 29, 2012
Curious George is such a delightful character. He has always been one of my favorites. He is a major part of my family. In this adventure, George is visiting a fire station. When the fire siren goes off, the firefighters are off to save the day. Little do they know George is along for the ride. George finds his own way to be useful, as always. =)
May 24, 2025
I've got 32 of these 24-page Curious George stories written and illustrated "in the style of" the Reys to review, all I think from 1997 and later (after Margret Rey's death), though I'd have to double check.
My 2-year-old daughter fell in love with Curious George from me reading her an omnibus of the originals, so she found the latter day 8-story omnibuses "Curious George Stories to Share" and "The New Adventures of Curious George" at the library, and when I found two more 8-story collections not in our public library system ("A Treasury of Curious George" and "Busy Days with Curious George", we had to have them all and read each multiple times.
In this one, George joins Mrs. Gray and her students on a field trip to the fire station (she shows up more than once, but I haven't identified which story is her debut). No mention is made of George once being arrested and thrown in jail by firefighters. No lasting trauma, I guess.
George's curiosity leads to him riding a fire engine when the firefighters have to leave off talking to the kids to respond to a fire in a pizzeria. George wants to help, but the fire chief kicks him off the truck. He finds baseballs and tries to share with a scared girl. He ends up juggling, keeping nearby children happily distracted, and earning the fire chief praise from a mother for employing a monkey to calm scared children.
It's fine. My daughter likes it. The thing about these post-Rey sequels is that 24 pages is only long enough for George to get into trouble in one place. You don't get the succession of one chaotic scenario after enough wrapping back to the original plan of Rey's first five books.
My 2-year-old daughter fell in love with Curious George from me reading her an omnibus of the originals, so she found the latter day 8-story omnibuses "Curious George Stories to Share" and "The New Adventures of Curious George" at the library, and when I found two more 8-story collections not in our public library system ("A Treasury of Curious George" and "Busy Days with Curious George", we had to have them all and read each multiple times.
In this one, George joins Mrs. Gray and her students on a field trip to the fire station (she shows up more than once, but I haven't identified which story is her debut). No mention is made of George once being arrested and thrown in jail by firefighters. No lasting trauma, I guess.
George's curiosity leads to him riding a fire engine when the firefighters have to leave off talking to the kids to respond to a fire in a pizzeria. George wants to help, but the fire chief kicks him off the truck. He finds baseballs and tries to share with a scared girl. He ends up juggling, keeping nearby children happily distracted, and earning the fire chief praise from a mother for employing a monkey to calm scared children.
It's fine. My daughter likes it. The thing about these post-Rey sequels is that 24 pages is only long enough for George to get into trouble in one place. You don't get the succession of one chaotic scenario after enough wrapping back to the original plan of Rey's first five books.
September 21, 2017
Summary: George goes into a fire station on a field trip. He is getting the tour of the place from the chief and notices a shiny pole in the corner, he wonders where the pole leads to. He slides down the pole and ends up in the worker station. He is trying on the equipment when suddenly the fire station alarm goes off signaling there is a fire. The firefighters gear up and leave to go work, and George accompanies them. George tries to help, but gets told to stay out of the way. He notices some balls and starts to juggle. Some kids join, and soon they all begin to play catch. One ball gets stuck on the top of the firetruck and George climbs to retrieve it. He juggles, and the fire chief asks what he is doing on top of the truck. A woman congratulates the chief for bringing the monkey in order to calm down children who might be scared of fires.
Evaluation: This is a great book to read to younger grades. This book could be used to teach children that just because they may not be able to help out in the way they originally wanted to, doesn't mean they cant help in a special and unique way.
Teaching Point: I would use this book to teach students how to take their talents and use them in situations they might not have thought of in the first place. George didn't originally begin juggling, but by being told it wasn't safe for him to help with the fire, he was able to calm children down who were frightened from the fire.
Evaluation: This is a great book to read to younger grades. This book could be used to teach children that just because they may not be able to help out in the way they originally wanted to, doesn't mean they cant help in a special and unique way.
Teaching Point: I would use this book to teach students how to take their talents and use them in situations they might not have thought of in the first place. George didn't originally begin juggling, but by being told it wasn't safe for him to help with the fire, he was able to calm children down who were frightened from the fire.
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December 8, 2022George goes to the fire station and gets the tour of the firehouse. As the fire alarm goes off, George jumps into the firetruck and follows the firefighters on the call. Outside the fire scene George spots a frightened girl and he tries to make her feel better by distracting her with a ball. Soon, more kids throw balls at George and he begins to juggle which helps the girl feel more at ease.
Relevance: Although George was not part of the fire team, he along with the help of other children at the fire scene helped a frightened girl feel better through collaborative work and helping distract her from the fire.
Relevance: Although George was not part of the fire team, he along with the help of other children at the fire scene helped a frightened girl feel better through collaborative work and helping distract her from the fire.
March 9, 2020
This book was a excellent book for children to learn about firefighters and fire safety. This book took the reader through a journey of George’s experience with the firefighters. This book demonstrates awareness of who to contact when there is a fire in a child appropriate manner. This book was vivid in imagery and provided well written language for younger children to understand. Overall, I would recommend this book to introduce fire safety and awareness to what firefighters do.
September 26, 2025
Oh sweetie Sarah! We're so proud of you for reading about Curious George and the brave firefighters! You learned something really important - that firefighters are heroes who help keep everyone safe, and that we should always listen to safety rules. Just like George discovered, being curious is wonderful, but being safe is even more important! You can use this by remembering fire safety rules and always asking grown-ups for help when you need it. Great job reading, our smart little girl!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2018
Funny book about George who just wants to join the firefighters. When he isn’t allowed to he juggles some baseballs to make some children smile during the fire and he ended up helping the day by distracting the kids.
April 18, 2020
George gets into mischief during a class visit to the fire station. He goes along with the firefighters while they respond to a call. Although the fire chief doesn’t initially appreciate George’s actions, he comes to realize that the little monkey has helped out after all.
September 1, 2020
I love Curious George! My son seems to enjoy him, too (or at least the pictures!) This one is a little jaunt to the fire house, a ride on the truck, and a minor fire where George gets to see the fighters in action, and even help a group of kids not feel so scared.
May 4, 2017
My daughter and I both love Curious George books. It one was great as well. Liked how they did fire station tour, and gave the kids their own fire hats.
April 3, 2018
It was a good book because there was a monkey driving a fire truck, and I haven't seen that before.
June 1, 2018
This book was about curious george and the firefighters and it *sniff* made me cry.*sob* DON'T ASK
November 2, 2018
Curious George is a monkey always getting into trouble but then the trouble always turns into good luck. This book was funny.
September 13, 2019
Cute, but not as adventures as I expected. 🤷
January 12, 2020
Curious George helps the firefighters and makes a little girl feel unafraid.
April 14, 2020
Curious George visits a fire station and learns what they do. Preschool and up
January 21, 2021
Love curious George
February 11, 2021
I loved the classic illustrations to the fun children's book. My 3, 5 and 7 year old really enjoyed the story and illustrations.
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March 24, 2021Shelved w/Community Helpers
July 23, 2021
Jorge es muy pero que muy curioso.-M
September 8, 2021
Elliot learned all about firefighters the past two weeks while working on the letter F. Elliot loves Curious George, so it was a fun book for him
September 9, 2021
I thought this was a cute story but not an amazing one.
November 20, 2021
George and the man with the yellow hat visit the fire station for a tour. While there George somehow accompanies the firetruck and helps extinguish a fire.
December 13, 2021
A fun read with my granddaughter about Curious George visiting a fire station and getting into a little mischief as he helps the firemen.
August 3, 2022
Both my son and my younger daughter have loved this book!
January 31, 2023
I thought this book was charming and easy for readers to stay engaged. I liked the bright and colorful illustrations, and I liked the story about George!
January 31, 2023
This is a fun and quick book that teaches a great lesson about firefighters!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews