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Curious George

 Children like a fish out of water, perhaps because children relate to the fish.


In 1930, Babar entered the world; in his first book, he flees nature for the city, and he becomes enchanted by a "lift." (A clerk in the department store has to scold him, in a gentle way.)

Ten years later, "Caps for Sale" made a splash; in this one, monkeys seize a variety of caps, and they struggle to communicate with the aggrieved cap vendor. It's only when an accident occurs that the story can get resolved.

Then, in 1941, the Reys gave us the ultimate fish out of water: Curious George. George is a well-intentioned monkey, but his naivete leads him to half-drown, to summon a fire crew to a non-fire, to steal balloons, and to injure a jailor. (Maybe the jailor deserves his fate.)

I see two obvious "heirs" to the Curious George throne; one is Paddington, and the other is Corduroy. Famously, Paddington struggles with a bathtub once he has made an exit from his Peruvian home. Corduroy thinks Macy's is a castle, and he damages a bed (but he acts without malice).

God is in the details, and "Curious George" really "sings" when we notice the glowing "fire and smoke map," the giraffe waving his balloon, and the monkey among the gulls, trying to reach for the clouds.

Inexplicably, my copy says the author is H.A. Rey -- but, in fact, a team worked on this book. The cover should say: "Margret and H.A. Rey." I hope that Clarion Books will make a correction.
















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