Curious George and the Puppies

November 15, 1998
Ages 3^-5. In this simple story based on the character created by Margret and H. A. Rey, Curious George and the man with the yellow hat find a kitten and take it to the animal shelter, where they learn that a puppy is missing. George visits the puppies, but when he opens their cage to pet one, they all run out. This crisis causes confusion, but it leads to finding the missing puppy. Similar in format to the picture books that appeared in 1989 with stories and art adapted from the Curious George film series, the new series features the familiar little monkey in new adventures. Smaller in size and shorter in length than the original Curious George picture books, these have watercolor-and-charcoal illustrations that are better than those in the previous spin-offs, though a step down from the original classics. Although the books don't show Curious George at his best, and some may find the new stories pedestrian, there's something childlike about them that will please preschoolers. The books are available in paperback and paperboard, as well as a hardback edition with reinforced binding, for which the ISBN is given following the titles below. The other books are "Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon" (0-395-91918-5), "Curious George Feeds the Animals" (0-395-91904-5), "Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory" (0-395-91216-4), "Curious George Goes to a Movie" (0-395-91901-0), "Curious George in the Snow" (0-395-91902-9), "Curious George Makes Pancakes" (0-595-91903-7), and "Curious George's Dream" (0-395-91905-3). Given the perpetual popularity of the series, libraries may want to offer these picture books as well as the originals. ((Reviewed November 15, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)