The Original Curious George [Hardcover]

H.A. Rey (Author), Leonard S. Marcus (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

On June 14, 1940, Hans and Margret Rey fled Paris as the German army invaded the city. Escaping on bicycles, they took only winter coats and four picture books strapped to the racks. Among those books were the watercolors and a rough text for Fifi, later known to the world as Curious George. However, when Curious George was actually published in the United States in 1941, these original watercolors were not used for the printing. Hans Rey was required by his editor to redraw the entire book, creating preseparated art, so that costs would be minimal. The Reys retained the original art and would, on rare occasion, treat carefully chosen friends and collectors to George as he was first envisioned in Paris those many years ago. During their lifetimes they parted with only five pieces of the extraordinary art. For this edition, the original Curious George drawings have been retrieved and reassembled, using modern reproductive techniques.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As the introduction explains, the watercolor paintings that accompany this special edition of the very first Curious George story made their way out of Paris on the back of Hans Rey's bicycle, as he and his wife, Margaret, narrowly escaped the German occupation. By way of Spain and Brazil, Rey and his work came to the United States, where cash-strapped children's publishers always required "color separation" art--i.e., a different drawing for each color. So Rey's watercolors were not used, and for subsequent books he never even did them; only now, for the first time, has that first set been used directly. Otherwise, it's the story you probably already know, though a bit more luxuriously produced, about how Curious George came to make life a lot more interesting for the Man in the Yellow Hat. (Ages 3 to 8) --Richard Farr

About the Author

Hans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. After serving in the army during World War I, he studied philology and natural science at the University of Hamburg. He then married Margret Rey and they moved to Montmartre for four years. The manuscript for 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. 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
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: HMH Books; Collectors edition (October 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395922720
• ISBN-13: 978-0395922729
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #685,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. After serving in the army during World War I, he studied philology and natural science at the University of Hamburg. He then married Margret Rey and they moved to Montmartre for four years. The manuscript for 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. 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightfully written account of mischief and fun, February 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Original Curious George (Hardcover)

Despite the colonialist/imperialist undercurrents, which was acceptable for the time the book was published, this is a marvelous tale of mischief, hard-knocks and learning. This book allows children to see that it is acceptable to make mistakes and still be deserving of love and understanding. To the reviewer in Ann Arbor, MI: it is fabulous that you are passionate about something, to hate is almost to love.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic that doesn't need censoring or modernizing, November 27, 2010

By 

Amy Green (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Original Curious George (Hardcover)

THIS EDITION:
I compared the original watercolors in this special edition with the 'pre-separated' illustrations used in the original publication of Curious George. I am an artist and I have to say I actually like the second (pre-separated) illustrations better. They are more crisp, clean and consistent. The watercolors seem kind of sloppy by comparison, and more like sketches than like finished illustrations. Great to have if you are a Curious George collector though.

CURIOUS GEORGE, THE BOOK:
I was born in '71 and loved all the original Curious George books. I don't remember how old I was when we started reading them, but I remember them well. I am extremely sensitive and I love animals, but the stories didn't have any negative effect on me. Some reviewers feel they aren't good for today's kids, or have said their children reacted badly to them.

Re: pipe smoking - I certainly never noticed the smoking in the book or thought that because people in it (or any other book/movie) were doing it I should too. I 'smoked' candy cigarettes as a kid in the '70s, yet I have never had a desire to smoke. I also have never wanted to fly off a boat, be in a movie, or a hundred other things George does. And the main message of all the books is one of the main things children must learn: try to control your impulses because they can lead to trouble. Don't act without thinking. Don't try to fly off a boat because you will almost drown like George did! If you eat a puzzle piece you might have to go to the hospital like George did! Etc. A secondary but equally important message is that even when you do get into 'mischief' people will still love you (and will not abandon you, as the man in the yellow hat does in the 2006 animated movie Curious George).

Re: George's capture - If you don't like George's capture but let your kids go to the zoo, that's hypocritical. I hope you are instead telling them how wrong the zoo is because they do the same thing to animals that happened to George. (Google "Animal Capture Equipment.") And to those who equate the prison and the zoo, just look at the two illustrations: A dark cell with a bit of cheese, vs. a tree in the middle of a sunny open island (not a cage)? I wish all zoos kept all their monkeys this way. Anyway, it's clear from the later stories that George doesn't stay at the zoo for long. He goes to live with the MWTYH. I agree sending George to jail doesn't make any sense; nor does sending him to a human hospital rather than a vet. But, such is the realm of fiction. I always enjoyed reading about how he escaped from the jail. And in fact the Jewish authors fled Europe at the outbreak of WWII.

My 2.5 yr old daughter really likes the book and also the stop-motion animated versions of "Curious George" and "CG Goes to the Hospital" (Curious George (Collector's Edition)) which follow the books very closely. (One change I did notice is that George's pipe smoking is done behind the man's back and makes him sick. Good way to handle that scene.) She is very empathetic also and didn't react badly to anything in either story. Incidentally my family liked that stop-motion video WAY better than the 2006 animated movie.

I wrote this because I was really floored by the content of the negative reviews for this edition and also for The Original Curious George. No wonder we are raising "A Nation of Wimps" as the upcoming generation is now being called and with good reason. Kids are breaking down in record numbers. The overinvolvement and overprotection of helicopter parenting* is backfiring. And it's little things like this that contribute. I don't really agree with those who say "It's just a children's book." Children are very impressionable, it's true. But to what degree are we to control those impressions? Probably more than our grandparents or maybe even parents did, but definitely less than this generation of parents is doing. There is a balance without which we're crippling our kids.

*Some books on helicopter parenting:
Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry)
A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting
Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting
The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box: Cut Yourself Some Slack (and Still Raise Great Kids) in the Age of Extreme Parenting
The Blessing Of A Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children
Raising America: Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children

Some articles:
TIME: Helicopter Parents-The Backlash Against Overparenting
Psychology Today: A Nation of Wimps
Newsweek: The Good Enough Mother
O, the Oprah Magazine: The New Improved Self-Esteem
The Salon: Parents on the verge of a nervous breakdown
NY Times: Dear Parents-Please Relax, It's Just Camp
Io Triumphe!: Confessions of a "Helicopter Parent"
HomeWord.com: Confessions of a Recovering Helicopter Parent

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a find!, October 30, 2010

By 

Joyce E. Eddy "Goose Hubbard" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Original Curious George (Hardcover)

An original Curious George book is a special find and this one is in pristine condition, minus the notations from the New York Public Library from which it was deleted. It is authentically original, which is obvious from the feel of the paper and the type of ink used. I bought it for an inexpensive gift, but want to keep it for myself!