Curious George

This is a pop-up version of the favorite title about the inquisitive monkey who unintentionally wreaks havoc on an entire city just by poking into things. By opening a page or yanking the right tabs, readers can watch George put on the yellow hat (the act that leads to his capture), get rescued from his attempt at flying, and teeter on the telephone lines. The firefighting sequence (when George accidentally calls the fire department) is action-packed, and the final pop-ups, of the monkey with his balloons, are inspired. For modern readers, George's kidnapping may seem severe. But this is a grand adventure in any format, and pop-ups make the still-curious monkey fly. Ages 4-8. (October) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

PreS-Gr 3-The timeless antics of Curious George are given new life in this read-along series, which faithfully follows the text of each story. A male narrator, accompanied by minimal musical interludes and sound effects, reads the story, once with page-turn signals and once without on each CD. Sounds effects occasionally explain pertinent parts of the unspoken story, like a splash in the water when George takes a dive into the ocean. Curious George Feeds the Animals has a female reader, with a male counterpart reading the Man with the Yellow Hat's lines. Margaret and H.A. Rey's original character has been entertaining children for decades, but it's hard to imagine a child today who wouldn't be puzzled by The Man with the Yellow Hat plucking George from his environment and transporting him to another country, George's imprisonment (and jail-break!) for inadvertently dialing the fire department while playing with the phone, or the fact that the Man in the Yellow Hat leaves his charge unattended when he takes him to a movie. Still, a naughty anthropomorphic monkey is entertaining, and adults may want to take the opportunity to explain to pint-sized listeners that their monkey-shines won't warrant the same results. Curious George certainly deserves a spot on the shelf, and these engaging stories will provide a good exercise in imagination and creativity. A solid choice, especially with an all-new animated adventure based on the classic tales debuting as a feature film in February 2006.-Kirsten Martindale, formerly Menomonie Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.