 "Classic Monkey Mischief" | 2009-08-17 |
| - Reviewed By eyelevelbooks.com from Gaithersburg, MD |
When the monkey George sees a man with a yellow hat entering his jungle, his curiosity leads him into being captured and taken to America. On board the ship and upon arriving in America, his curiosity leads him into trouble again and again, but the man with the yellow hat is always there to bail him out.
George's mischievous, adventurous approach to life (balanced by his friend's comforting and steadying presence) has made him popular with generations of children since the first book was published in 1941 by Margret and H.A. Rey. (You can read an interesting history of the books and authors at [...] According to Margret Rey, part of the books' appeal is that "George can do what kids can't do. He can paint a room from the inside. He can hang from a kite in the sky. He can let the animals out of their pens on the farm. He can do all these naughty things that kids would like to do." I would add that while children will enjoy the vicarious thrill of watching George's antics, they have no trouble understanding that his often-foolish actions are inappropriate for themselves. If anything, he provides an example of how not to act.
All the original Curious George books are good, but like many other classic children's series, it has a number of poor-quality sequels. I recommend only the original seven. |
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 "Brianna's Radical Review" | 2009-05-06 |
| - Reviewed By An Amazon User |
| This book catches my attention so back in 1889, in a Pennsylvania river valley lies Johnstown where Megan lives her richly life. Though she is accustomed to spring runoff floods , today's water is creeping higher up her porch steps than ever before. As the armpit deep water rises to Megan's dad, Megan rushes to the attic for security; then she caught a glimpse of her dad and sisters. She heard a whistle that there was going to be a big wave. Megan saw a sizable wave .She's alone on a mattress with branches underneath it. She calls for help from someone she knows packing clothes in a trunk like berserks people as she a passes dead horse bobbing up and down. Megan and Brian float near a wagon with 4 people on it Shaw, Libby, Daisy, and Tom. Megan says," Brian, grab that old man's hand." So Brian tried to grab that old man's hand, but the current swept them in a different direction away from the church, but heading to a hill close to the church. As a floating barrel with 2 people pass by are heading to the safest place which is Green Hill. Libby can't walk yet because her leg is broken. As the crew finds a little boy, Brian told Megan to take care of the little boy and give him some clothes. When a woman spotted them she gave them food and shelter. As worried Megan tells Tom and Brian about her family, the two of them went out to find Megan's family. A boy reminded Megan of her brother, and he fell asleep with Megan and the others. As Megan groped her way to the door, she heard a bell ring eleven. When Brian came back and spotted her, they went to a grape arbor, then Megan asked Brian about his life. Megan woke up and went up to the house to have breakfast with the others. As Shaw coughed, Brian with the crew went to find Megan's family. They saw someone making a raft, so Tom and Brian went to help.In no time they got it done. As the crew walked, they saw a house on its side . Tom found food for the others to eat and found Megan's dog. When Tom found money ,he took it ; Megan was so unhappy that she said to Tom that he was selfish. Brian and they went back to the shed and saw Septimus Shaw! As Megan, Brian, And Daisy go to the train yard , Brian went back to the school, Daisy found her company , and Megan found her housekeeper, Hulda. Will Megan find her dad? My class and I read it ,so you have to ,too. I recommend that you read it to find out if Megan finds her family in The Terrible Wave |
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| "Tucker's Terrific Review" | 2009-05-04 |
| - Reviewed By Doug's Duds from Story, Wyoming |
This book is like a hook! It reels you in! Rich, spoiled, 15 year old Megan resent having her aunt inform her on what to do when she sees the water skyrocketing higher in Pennsylvania in the spring of 1889. When Megan's father came running to the porch with urgency in his voice, the water was at the third step from the porch at 4:00, 1889, May 31; a whistle was heard as a terrible wave was seen. As Megan was lying on a soaking wet mattress, she passed a dead horse and a family she knew was filling stuff into a trunk like crazy people. As Megan saw Brian, a young man, getting on the mattress, a train collided into a house. Megan and Brian got on a wagon which was going toward a mountain. As the raft got closer and closer to the mountain side, two more people got on the wagon, one a man and a one a woman. Darkness had lain upon the mountainside as Brian and Tom, the man, got help. Brian and Tom found a shed and told the others to follow, and they found a boy and got some soup. Megan fed soup to the motionless boy. Brian took the bowls back to the house; he came back and fixed Megan's bleeding hands. Soon after Tom and Brian left to go look for Megan's family. As Megan was outside, she saw Brian. He told her there was a fire, and how the town being demolished in just ten minutes. When Megan woke up, she drank coffee, ate food, and cleaned herself up. Brian, Megan, Tom, Daisy, and Stefan were all walking when Brian and Tom helped two men build a raft. They all climbed down a rope and found Senator, Megan's dog. As Tom was picking up the money from the bush, Megan and Brian fought over if it was stealing or not for what Tom did. A group of men are setting out to go fix the town up and the others are back at the shed. Megan, Brian and Daisy went to the train station, Daisy left, and then Megan
found Hulda the cook. Megan found John Huber a friend, and Brian came back only to tell her... Read the book. What does Brian tell her? Does Megan find her father? Read the book. I recommend Terrible Wave to history teachers, because it took place in the past and has a lot to do with floods. My class and I love this book. What a great and meaningful book!
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 "A bit much for my 3 year old" | 2009-03-04 |
| - Reviewed By Andre LaPlume |
George was taken from his home and put into a bag.
George was put into a prison.
These things can be scary to a young mind.
George enjoyed a pipe (smoke and all) after dinner.
Nothing needed to be said about that.
Not trying to be over-politically-correct, but this was a bit much for my 3 year old and she even asked if I could take it back to the store.
Obviously others have same age children who like it. This is just another opinion for others to consider.
At the same time, she loved "Caps For Sale" which we got at the same time. And she loves the more recent Curious George stories that don't deal with kidnapping, imprisonment, and tobaco usage.
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| "Great for travel" | 2009-01-15 |
| - Reviewed By C. Hauck from Portland, OR |
This is a wonderfully narrated story, and our boys (ages 3 & 5) loved listening and reading along during a long trip. Curious George's fun adventures kept them smiling and giggling, and the story is well recorded on the CD.
I definitely encourage this as an alternative to putting on another portable DVD or video game. It was great to have the kids entertained by storytelling while we concentrated on getting us all to our destination! |
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| "Just as advertised" | 2008-12-17 |
| - Reviewed By new dad |
| Bought the book used and it was in good shape just as advertised. You never know what good shape is especially for a children's book, but despite a few minor creases it was in good condition, besides I have a feeling my daughter is going to add a few more creases anyway. |
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