Customer Reviews

Curious George Learns the Alphabet (Curious George - Level 1)

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

 

 

H.A. Rey uses good learning skills to teach children the alphabet. He uses visual education by making the letters into animals and people that the letter resembles. And he also uses good repetition after introducing the letter by using phrases that have the perticular letter in it and he highlights the letter used to make it stand out for the child. This book makes learning the alphabet fun and easy. It is original and playful, but what book with curious george isn't?

In H. A. Rey's Curious George Learns the Alphabet, the man in the yellow hat teaches George how to read. George learns each of the letters of the alphabet as the man in the yellow hat relates both the upper- and lower-case letters to an object it resembles, starting with the letter. So, "A" is the open mouth of an alligator, while "a" is a piece of an apple; "M" is a mailman and "m" is a mouse; "R" is a rabbit and "r" is a rooster. Each letter receives a two-page spread. The illustrations are typical Rey drawings with a great deal of personality; within the object representing the letter, the form of the letter is easily recognizable, superimposed on the object with thick black lines. Some of the letter-objects are a little peculiar, but children who are just learning that letters represent sounds and objects will delight in the wacky illustrations of a spotted "J"-bodied jaguar, a man with an "n" for a nose, and the "q"-headed quarterback. The narrative lessons on letters are interrupted a few times with interludes for George to play football and buy doughnuts. Beneath the illustrations, each time the featured letter appears in the text (whether at the beginning, middle, or end of the word), it is highlighted with color. In the story, George and the man in the yellow hat helpfully model the instructional process. Although focused on letters and their shapes, because this book also tells a story, Curious George Learns the Alphabet offers a good way to first introduce the concept of letters, sounds, and words to children who are not yet focused directly on the alphabet. More advanced readers will also be able to focus on letter sounds and letters in the context of words and sentences.

This book is different from the rest of the classic Curious George series, because it is primarily devoted to introducing each letter of the alphabet by transforming the letter into an animal or other object. This device makes the letters memorable, and many of the letter-pictures are accompanied by sidebar-style scenes and commentary in the margin. There is just enough humor to help retain interest, as George takes breaks to make up silly words, play football, and go out for doughnuts (mischievously changing the Man in the Yellow Hat's note from "One dozen" to "ten dozen.") But this is really an alphabet lesson disguised as a story, and might not be a big hit with children who aren't ready to learn the alphabet.

One nice feature is that the authors have made sure the letter in focus appears frequently in the explanatory text, and have used color to highlight each instance of it. This makes the text a bit contrived, but it does help the fledgling reader see how the letters he or she is learning are used to create the words of the story.

While this book shouldn't be the primary introduction to the letters of the alphabet, it is a good supplement for an alphabet lesson, especially for children who have enjoyed the other Curious George books.

Make sure to read this full review.


It's a bit long for a curious george story. I hope you do not purchase this to teach your children about reading. It is better used as reinforcement to what they already know about the ABCs and reading. Now listen to why I am only giving it 3 stars.

I am surpised certain parts were not re-written for our time. Generally older stories are rather nice and can easily take to back to another era. But in this story...little g is for gay. In 1958 this meant happy. But in 2009 when your toddler walks around telling his teacher and school friends how "gay" he is feeling because it snowed over the weekend. Well, that apparently warranted a phone call home.

"Don't be alarmed, we would just like to know where your son learned this term". They did not seem to believe me when I said curious george. I brought the book in to his teachers so they could see I am not a biggot. The teacher told me to NOT read it to him again. Can you believe this? Another parent complained because my son asked hers why he was not gay. He meant in the way I explained its meaning, "happy", but the word "gay" is no longer socially acceptable.

I already knew that before reading the story, but it was not a big deal to me until I received the phone call and when the teacher spoke to me at pick up.

Curious George is a must for children of all ages. This precious book is a fun way for a child to become familiar with the alphabet!!