Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon [Paperback]

H. A. Rey (Author, Creator), Margret Rey (Author, Creator), Vipah Interactive (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Curious George

While on vacation, George and the man with the yellow hat stop to see Mt. Rushmore. There's no time to take a helicopter ride for a close-up view - the hot air balloon races are about to start! Whisked up and away at the races, a surprised George gets a close-up view of the presidents after all. 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.

Editorial Reviews

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.

About the Author

The Reys were born in Hamburg, Germany. Hans Augusto Rey (1898-1977) met his wife-to-be, Margret (1906-1996), at a party in her father's home in Germany; when he first caught a glimpse of her, she was sliding down the banister. In their twenties and thirties they lived in Paris and in Rio de Janeiro, where Hans sold bathtubs in villages along the Amazon River. Eventually Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the Reys' home and community. Throughout their lives the Reys created many lively books together, including SPOTTY, PRETZEL, and lift-the-flap books such as HOW DO YOU GET THERE? The manuscript of the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and CURIOUS GEORGE was published in 1941. Their incorrigible little monkey has become an American icon, selling millions of books and capturing the hearts of readers everywhere. CURIOUS GEORGE has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. Additional Curious George books followed, as well as such other favorites as CECILY G. AND THE NINE MONKEYS and FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: HMH Books (October 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395919096
• ISBN-13: 978-0395919095
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Popular Characters > Book Characters > Curious George
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Apes & Monkeys > Fiction
  • #47 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Apes & Monkeys

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Katy's favorites, March 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon (Paperback)

My 3 year old daughter Katy loves the Curious George books. She particularly like this one and wants to read it almost every night. As an aside, the book has taught Katy about the presidents on Mt. Rushmore and she wants to go to South Dakota to see them!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best pictures I've seen on Kindle, April 7, 2009

By 

N. Dimaio - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon (Kindle Edition)

My 2 year old has requested it. That qualifies for 5 stars. There's no doubt that images were optimized for Kindle. This book has the best graphics I've seen on Kindle. Only drawbacks, one page or line seemed to be missing and I wish all of the pages with text had a picture also and vice versa. I wish the books were more like half the price of paper. It was exciting to finally see a major little kids' charachter series on Kindle and done well. I hope more are on the way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, September 1, 2008

By 

Disappointed Shopper - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon (Paperback)

Good book. It's one of the older George stories and drawings, not one of the newer George stories and drawings.