The movie that George and the man with the yellow hat have been waiting to see is now playing Once inside the darkened theater, George is curious about the light coming from the back of the room. As usual, George's curiosity gets him into trouble but his clever tricks save the day. The adventures of Curious George continue in an all-new series beginning in fall 1998 with eight new stories. Written and illustrated in the style of Margret and H. A. Rey, the books will appear in paperback (8 x 8") and hardcover editions and will feature the art of Vipah Interactive, the animators of HMI's Curious George CD-ROMs.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-These two books take a familiar, favorite character and create an imitation of his curiosity, but without the Reys' usual spark and attention to detail. In Hot Air Balloon, George is playing with an anchor rope and the balloon takes off with him aboard. It blows quite close to the nose of George Washington at Mt. Rushmore where the monkey unwittingly rescues a worker and becomes a hero. He is rewarded with a helicopter ride around the monument. When Curious George Goes to a Movie, the man with the yellow hat leaves to get popcorn and George goes up to the projection booth where he startles the projectionist, who knocks the reels off the projector. While he untangles the film, George does shadow figures to amuse the audience and again becomes a hero. Both books read like anemic summaries of the original Curious George adventures, but with the lessons eliminated. It is disconcerting that this George never receives so much as a mention of the follies of his curiosity, but is immediately rewarded for a chance good deed, which happens as part of the cover-up for his naughtiness. Both the blandness and the mixed messages make these titles bad advertising for the real Curious George.
Nancy A. Gifford, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
