Customer Reviews

Curious George Gets a Medal (Book and CD)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The basic storyline is that Curious George gets himself into a heap of trouble, and the more he tries to fix the situation, the worse it gets.

I did not feel that the story advocated George's tactics (stealing, etc.). All of the things that George does are obviously the wrong way of going about things...he doesn't earn the medal for any of his foibles. In fact, when George is caught it says "he felt so ashamed, he almost wished he were dead."

Of course, as in other George stories, the man with the yellow hat shows up to save the day, and he redirects George to a more appropriate use of his intelligence.

It may not be one of the great moral masterpieces of our civilization, but it's vintage Curious George--a classic from a simpler era when everything wasn't hyper analyzed.

Curious George gets a Medal
Reviewed by Darius
By H.A. Rey

Are you very curious? Than Curious George gets a Medal by H.A. Rey is for you. George is curious and causes some trouble. It is important and extraordinary for youthful children.
George lives on a farm during the fall time. He floods the house and goes to get a pump and lets a whole pen of pigs out. Then the farmers chase him. He gets on a truck that goes to the museum.

I like when George floods the house with water. The illustrations were working with the setting to make it funny. It was really funny and amusing. The one thing I disliked it was really long.

The plot was excellent. The theme was interesting and very good for little children. The setting also helped because the things look real. The theme is don't touch things your not allowed to.

I think George is curious and if you are curious you are made for this book. This book is very funny. I recommend this book for young children.

The Curious George books are part of a larger genre of children's fiction, popular during the 1940's and 50's, of mild-mannered domesticated wild animals. (Other examples of this kind of story are Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, Crictor, and Babar.) This genre plays on the unusual characteristics of these anthropomorphized animals, who are so different from ordinary cat-and-dog pets. While these animals are always goodwilled, their wild nature causes trouble even as they seek to integrate into human society.

Young children have adored the Curious George books since the first one was published in the 1940s, and their popularity remains undiminished in our household. George is a monkey from the Amazon who was captured and brought home by the Man in the Yellow Hat. George happily settles into domestic life, but remains a mischievous monkey who constantly got into trouble, usually by failing to follow instructions from humans. George's appeal is partly that, as a monkey, he is able to do many things young children wish they could do; his disobedience can serve as a humorous example of what not to do while providing excitement and adventure. And at the end of the day, the Man with the Yellow Hat is always there to bail him out in the nick of time.

In this story, George's troubles begin when the Man with the Yellow Hat leaves him at home, admonishing him not to get into trouble; George receives a letter which he cannot read; then he attempts to write a letter, spills the ink, fills the room with soap and water in an attempt to clean it up, then makes off for the country to swipe a pump to empty the room. He releases a herd of pigs and steals a cow to tow the pump away, then flees the farmers by stowing away on a pickup truck headed for the museum. There he wrecks a dinosaur exhibit and is about to be carted off to the dreaded zoo when the Man with the Yellow hat arrives to explain everything. It turns out the director of the museum is the author of the letter that began George's troubles, and the letter invites him to become the first monkey to go into space. George agrees, all is forgiven, and he receives a medal for his courageous participation in the space program.

All of the original Curious George books are good, but like many other classic children's books, this one has a number of poor-quality sequels. I recommend only the original seven.

I am 4 and I love this book because it has Curious George in it and because I like it and because Curious George gets a pump out and he races with a cow and he hides in a shirt.

Oh, really. I had to laugh at the reviewer who says that this book will instill bad values because George has no sense of responsibility and gets away with his actions. George is a monkey, for heaven's sake! He may be anthromorphized but he's not a human and his problems are caused because he thinks and acts like a monkey--and the result is hilarious! As a child this book was my favorite among all the Curious George books, because the situations he gets himself into, and his disastrous attempts to get out of them, are so funny! I was smart enough even at a young age, to know that the things he did weren't right, and the book didn't cause me to go out and steal or do any of the things he did. I knew I was smarter than a monkey. And loveable little George obviously felt bad about his mistakes as I knew I would in the same situation. Parents today seem to assume their kids aren't bright enough to figure these things out. They refuse to share so many of the truly fun classic books with their kids out of a misplaced fear that they "corrupt" them or that their child will somehow miss the humor and act like the foolish characters they read about. Credit your kids with a little more sense, folks! Better still, if you're concerned at all, just talk with your child about George's mistakes after you laugh over them. And you will laugh when you read this book, believe me! Hooray for George!

I recommend this book to a child of the age of 3-5. I think this book is good for both boys and girls. My favorite part of this book was all of it. I think the best part of the book for a child would be the drawings. The least interesting thing in this book for a child would be all the words.

This book is a pretty good book that is full of adventure. It is basically about curious George getting himself into a whole lot of trouble (as always). It all starts when George spills a bottle of ink. He doesn't know what to do and doesn't want to make "the man in the yellow hat" angry, so he tries to clean it up with a whole box of soap. He dumps the soap on and brings the hose through the window, which ends up flooding the room. That is how George's adventure begins. George decides he needs a pump and he knows that the farmers down the street have one. So he goes there and gets it, but in the process he lets the pigs out and makes whole bunch of commotion, so he hides. Then he jumps on a truck and goes to a museum where he knocks down a dinosaur. He gets caught at the museum because he didn't have time to hide. They put him in a cage and start to carry him off, but then `the man in the yellow hat" comes and saves him by reading him a letter he had received earlier that day. The letter asks George if he will do an experiment and be the first monkey in space! But will he go? You'll have to find out by reading this book by H.A. Rey.
This book is good but it is definitely not one of my favorites. George does a lot of naughty things and never gets punished for them. Otherwise this story was pretty good. It is wild and wacky and great for children, as long as they're not learning bad things from it (like you won't get in trouble for stealing). If your not looking for a book that will teach lessons or you want a book that is just plain funny, this is the one for you. I would recommend children from ages 3-9 read this book. They will most likely enjoy it.

This book doesn't enforce any of the values I'm trying to instill in my child. Not only is George curious, he also steals, runs away to avoid being caught, and when he is finally reprimanded for one of his many wrongdoings, all is forgiven due to his status and usefulness. This book may teach a child about how the world IS, but it certainly does not teach of how it SHOULD BE. No doubt kids enjoy the adventures of this little monkey, but we must ask ourselves what values it teaches our children.