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Curious George New Adventures
Curious George and the Dump Truck
Curious George gets into trouble when he boards a dump truck and spills a load of sand in the road but redeems himself when the sand blocks the getaway of jewelry thieves.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
About the author
Margret Rey
254 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 - 30 of 62 reviews
September 16, 2015
My 3 year old loves Curious George. He watches all TV shows on all 6 seasons on Netflix. He watches many reruns on TV. Recently I bought him about 15 different books. He learns a lot from it. Great series, books and TV shows. He enjoys this book tonight. I read him 5 curious George books a night. He likes me to read and re-read them for him.
August 15, 2013
Another Curious George book my 5 yr old loved reading. When I ask him which C.G. book he likes best he gets mad at me and tells me he likes them all 100%. So there you have it. It's around a level 1 reading level. My 5 yr old has to read everyday, and these he doesn't mind reading on his own because he likes them so much. A great addition to any C.G. collection.
February 26, 2012
Curious George as always, cannot help but be curious and stir things up a little. This time, our adventure involves George, a dump truck(of course), some ducks and a pond. What could possibly go wrong but end up right?? =)
March 15, 2012
George is at it again! Always the curious monkey, George creates a stir when he ventures into a dump truck and spills dirt into a duck pond. Luckily, Mama duck and her little ducklings love their new island. The story and illustrations are both adorable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2022
One of my favorite stories of Curious George.
Read
May 29, 2026My big question from this story is, Where is The Man with the Yellow Hat? My guess, searching for bigger and yellower hats instead of keeping this wild child of a pet out of trouble. This monkey could have killed people with his shenanigans.
Worst part of it all is this monkey pretty much fails upwards. Accidentally dumps a truck full of dirt in a pond, gets praised for building land for the ducks. Instead of getting sent back to the jungle he is praised for stealing a truck. Also shame on the drivers for not locking the doors.
"What could be better than a truck full of dirt?"
Not my favourite Gerorge Story though, didn’t have the feels of an adventure but the art is awesome
Worst part of it all is this monkey pretty much fails upwards. Accidentally dumps a truck full of dirt in a pond, gets praised for building land for the ducks. Instead of getting sent back to the jungle he is praised for stealing a truck. Also shame on the drivers for not locking the doors.
"What could be better than a truck full of dirt?"
Not my favourite Gerorge Story though, didn’t have the feels of an adventure but the art is awesome
September 3, 2018
Another adorable book about Curious George and his adventures exploring new things! I loved how Curious George was so intrigued by the dump truck, and the reactions by the adults who discovered his antics. Rey does a wonderful job of bringing this curious little monkey to life through his adult adventures, with adorable photos, and adaptable language for children of all ages to relate to. I'm looking forward to what Curious George will be up to in his next book!
May 25, 2025
Curious George has never seen ducklings before, then one day he follows some and their mother to the park. He operates a dump truck without a license, making an island of dirt in the lake for ducks, and that makes all the humans happy too.
My 2-year-old daughter loves Curious George, but this one is quite average.
My 2-year-old daughter loves Curious George, but this one is quite average.
November 21, 2021
George follows a mother duck and her ducklings to the park, where he spies a dump truck, and decides to climb inside of it. George accidently engages the gears of the trucks bed, and dumps out a load of dirt into a pond. What happens next saves the day.
November 2, 2018
Seemed closer to 'true' to the original Curious George stories. Wasn't thrilled by the 'everything worked out okay' ending.
August 3, 2021
I like it because how George is the one making the problem but in the end his the one who fixes a different problem.
January 31, 2022
This is my grandson’s favorite Curious George story. Not so much about the dump truck, but he likes my duck sound effects.
August 21, 2023
A preschool and up story about George discovering a dump truck and climbing in for some fun.
April 23, 2024
#2024
Want to Read
May 24, 2024SM
July 28, 2024
George was a good monkey and very curious.... /Sigh.
These books aren't bad, and the formula seems to work, but occasionally I wish my kids had never discovered them.
These books aren't bad, and the formula seems to work, but occasionally I wish my kids had never discovered them.
August 4, 2024
Another adventure with our favorite little monkey.
June 17, 2026
Curious George is a classic. This was a little above Hudson, but he still was engaged in it.
March 1, 2022
February is learning about the city. I don't what it is with reading George, I always feel exhausted. Though there is always a sliver lining in the stories we have read. Such as kindness, helping hand, forgiveness, seeing things at a different angle, and what is really important in life. George's stories really captivate the kids attention, with simple illustrations and easy to read text.
February 7, 2022
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grade Range: 2nd
I always loved reading Curious George and watching the cartoons of Curious George when I was younger. I think that these books are always full of adventure and of course, curiosity. I loved the illustrations that the author used and the flow of the sentence structures. When George accidentally dumped all of the dirt into the pond, the reaction from the gardeners surprised me. I expected them to be upset with George, but instead they said that he helped make the park a more enjoyable place for the ducks, by creating an island for them.
Grade Range: 2nd
I always loved reading Curious George and watching the cartoons of Curious George when I was younger. I think that these books are always full of adventure and of course, curiosity. I loved the illustrations that the author used and the flow of the sentence structures. When George accidentally dumped all of the dirt into the pond, the reaction from the gardeners surprised me. I expected them to be upset with George, but instead they said that he helped make the park a more enjoyable place for the ducks, by creating an island for them.
February 27, 2017
Hes too cute... never gets old. ;)
February 25, 2012
Curious George hears quacking below his window. Its a Mama duck with her 5 ducklings. George follows them to the park where George sees the pond and then something that he has never seen before a Dump Truck. The Dump Truck door is wide open, because the Gardeners went to lunch, but they forgot to close the door. George goes inside the Dump Truck, but hes to small to see out the window. He climbs on a lever, but its the dump lever. The dirt starts to fall George gets on the dirt and slides down with the dirt. Then the dirt falls into the pond. Then the gardeners come back and they knew want had happened. They were planting trees in the park, but George made a little island for the ducks instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2015
Synopsis: "Curious about the big truck next door, George takes a closer look. He wants to see how it works. Before long he finds that one little lever can mean great big trouble! But George quickly puts his monkey ingenuity to work and finds a surprising solution to his messy mishap."
My Review: Munchkin really enjoyed this one, it not only had George but also a dump truck. I do find it a little disconcerting that every mistake George makes just works out fine, there are no repercussions for not listening. That is fine for a monkey but not when you are trying to teach your young child lessons. Maybe I have just read to many curious George books lately and need to take a break, but they do always have fun activities at the end and keep Munchkin's attention.
My Review: Munchkin really enjoyed this one, it not only had George but also a dump truck. I do find it a little disconcerting that every mistake George makes just works out fine, there are no repercussions for not listening. That is fine for a monkey but not when you are trying to teach your young child lessons. Maybe I have just read to many curious George books lately and need to take a break, but they do always have fun activities at the end and keep Munchkin's attention.
July 18, 2007
Dump trucks are big and fun, but can also be dangerous. You should never drive a dump truck alone or without the driver. I might also add that although monkeys have been in space, a dump truck is no place for them. curiosity can be a very dangerous thing, and get you into heaps of trouble. For all you young'ens out there, you would do well to learn from curious george how to avoid the hazards of heavy construction equipment. And remeber this... there is not always a man in a large brimmed yellow hat there to save you from danger. So please be careful!
April 10, 2014
This was another fun-favorite George book. He follows ducks to the park. And in his curious way he accidentally gets into a dump truck and hits the level to lower the dirt. Although he's having fun with the dirt dumping; when the workers come back from lunch they see he's made a mess....BUT before they can really get onto him Momma duck and her babies have made the pile of dirt their home as an island in the lake! A cute book! And as always illustrations are wonderful!
November 29, 2015
Curious George plus Dump Truck plus little ducks. How is that not a winner? I loved how George thinks it would be so cool to sit in a dump truck (like most children I know), but when he actually sits down, he realizes that he can't reach the pedals or even see out of the windshield! I wouldn't have called this series out on quashing a daydream with a reality check, but the fact that it did it in a humorous way made it all the more impressive.
January 19, 2012
George was playing with his toys and then he heard a quack. Not only one quack, another, and another, and another, and another. And he kept hearing quacks. At first he had a little bit of trouble. And then he was waddling after mother duck, too. That's it. I liked this book because there is a truck. -by Alexander
January 30, 2013
Yup, that George is at it again. This time he is so curious about a dump truck at the park that he climbs inside, and upends its load into a pond. Luckily for George the ducks like the new dirt pile, and make it their island, so everyone is happy. There's this great line that says, "What could be better than a truck full of dirt?" Lots of things George, lots of things.
May 4, 2015
My son adores this book in which George follows his curiosity to a dump truck. Every bookstore in Israel seems to have English language copies of “Curious George and the Dump Truck,” which is also featured in the Hebrew version of the anthology, “A Treasury of Curious George” (אוצר הסיפורים של ג'ורג' הסקרן).
September 23, 2011
One of the better of the newer Curious Georges. Of course George is too curious, and something bad happens, but then it turns out to be not all that bad. Hmm, maybe these books should also be used for looking on the bright side of things.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews