Curious George (book)

Curious George is a children's book written and illustrated by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey, and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941. It is the first book in the Curious George series and tells the story of a monkey called George and his adventures with the Man with the Yellow Hat.

Story

The story starts in Africa, where a man wearing a yellow hat sees George swinging in the trees. The man wants to bring George home with him, so he leaves his hat on the ground. George climbs down from the tree, picks up the hat, and puts it on. The man captures George and puts him in a bag.

The two go on a big ship and sail to the city. Inside the ship, the man tells George that he is bringing George to the zoo and tells him not to get in trouble. George sees some seagulls flying and tries to fly like them, only for George to fall into the ocean. The sailors save George from drowning by throwing him a life preserver. After a long ride, the ship arrives on land, and the man takes George to his house. After eating and smoking, George falls asleep.

The next morning, the man calls the zoo. George then plays with the telephone and calls the fire station. When the firefighters arrive at the house, there was no fire; only a curious monkey. The firemen take George to jail for making a joke call.

George tries to leave his prison cell by climbing out the window. Just then, a guard walks in and climbs onto a wooden bed while trying to catch George. But the guard is so heavy that the bed tilts and traps him against the wall. George runs out the door and walks across the telephone cables on the utility poles.

George looks down the wall and sees a man selling balloons. George wants a red balloon for himself, but he takes them all and flies over town. George looks down and thinks that the city looks like a toy set. He then lands on a traffic light and sees his friend, the man in the yellow hat. The man pays for the balloons that George had taken, and drives George to the zoo, where he shares the balloons with the other animals.

Curious George (book) Media

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  Curious George & Friends bookstore, Harvard Square, 2007