Have you read other Curious George books too? Did the others affect you in the same way? I have only read one Curious George book since I was young. It was not the origin story. I recall thinking that it treated George like a lovable, mischievous child. I found your take extremely interesting and I am curious about your thoughts on the series as a whole.
Also, have you read The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden? It is a beautifully illustrated story (in a way that is reminiscent of the illustrations in the Curious George books) that tells the true story of Margret and H.A. Rey’s escape from the Nazis. I found it to be fascinating.
I find the idea of caging animals in zoos very sad in general and I don’t tend to enjoy visiting zoos or reading about them. Although I would probably enjoy more “prison break” zoo escape stories.
I've only read the second in the series (Curious George Takes a Job) and that one also didn't sit well with me (George is clearly missing his home; the man in the yellow hat retrieves George from his latest escapade so he can take him to a movie studio to, again, profit off of him). I agree with you about the caging of animals; I find it very difficult to visit zoos for the same reason. Thank you for sharing 'The Journey That Saved Curious George'! I'm familiar with the story of how the Rey's escaped with the manuscript but I haven't read it in a children's book!
Lordy I love this series. I’ve always felt Curious George was rather problematic, but the TV is pretty cute and doesn’t have the intrinsic racist qualities of the books. Some of the later stories are less obviously an issue once it is established that the monkey lives with George and is sort of just a curious little monkey pet. Even in those ones though George keeps getting in trouble for being curious when the Man with the Yellow Hat keeps leaving him UNATTENDED at various dangerous sites…is he trying to get his little monkey in trouble? Not a great caregiver move George…if this was a child of yours I’d hope someone would call CPS on you and your yellow hat. Pay attention to your pet dude. But I digress.
Thanks for another great installment! The collection we have isn’t great but doesn’t include the OG enslavement so I’ll probably leave it on the shelf and continue to make comments against the man in the yellow hat’s caregiving negligence when it does get plucked off the shelf.
Thanks so much for the compliment, Alexis! I agree I think the modern TV series will probably have sanitized George's origins or not touch upon it at all. And yes, all these adults blaming George for being a monkey 🙃
I remember “reading” Curious George and understanding it best through the illustrations. I think it taught me not to use the phone or I might end up in jail! To this day I can’t stand using the telephone. 😂
I was never particularly drawn to Curious George as a kid and I think out of the animal characters you've shared, it's the most blatantly problematic. Reflecting back on my experiences with this series as a child, I think I always struggled with the imagery of the police constantly arresting George. I appreciate the research you put into this newsletter and thank you for encouraging us parents to think more critically about the books we share with our children.
Wow, I'll be honest I don't remember the origin story of Curious George, and it's pretty blatantly awful as you point out. My kids have all had times when they have enjoyed George (and really the PBS show compared to the books) mainly for what you highlight, his level of curiosity in navigating the world.
Yes, I mentioned in another comment that I think the PBS show is probably a lot more modern in its sensibility. I think the franchise is probably smart enough to realize that there are some problems in the origin story of the series and doesn't focus on that aspect too much.
Edit: To clarify, I haven't seen the PBS show at all so this is just conjecture.
Yes, times change, but this series has always disturbed me. The arrogance and entitlement of the (white) Man in the Yellow Hat and George's anguish are very jarring, even without the obvious allusion to slavery.
Thanks for this thoughtful review—the Curious George tv show has been a popular choice during tv time the last few days on the PBS app and I was cringing inside as I read this. I suspected these things to be true but haven’t actually read the original Curious George book in quite a while. We had Curious George Goes to School from the library in the fall but that is the extent of our exposure lately until the last few days, funny enough with the timing of this post. I think I may start moving us back towards Super Why or Daniel Tiger…!
I haven't seen the TV series so I'm really not sure how prevalent the themes of racism and enslavement are--that being said, I imagine the PBS series (which debuted in 2006) is a lot more modern in its sensibility. If it works for you, that's great! I use this series to think critically about the classics so we can guide our kids towards critical thinking too!
I think you’re exactly right about how this series can be used in a productive way! I love the questions at the end of your post. Definitely plan to save this post for when the opportunity arises for these conversations!
I'm glad for your commentary. I happened to read this to my kids in the last 18 months and was like never again! I picked it up because I do have fond memories of the George book that contains the instructions for making a newspaper boat. But this first book - with the kidnapping is really dark.
Have you read other Curious George books too? Did the others affect you in the same way? I have only read one Curious George book since I was young. It was not the origin story. I recall thinking that it treated George like a lovable, mischievous child. I found your take extremely interesting and I am curious about your thoughts on the series as a whole.
Also, have you read The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden? It is a beautifully illustrated story (in a way that is reminiscent of the illustrations in the Curious George books) that tells the true story of Margret and H.A. Rey’s escape from the Nazis. I found it to be fascinating.
I find the idea of caging animals in zoos very sad in general and I don’t tend to enjoy visiting zoos or reading about them. Although I would probably enjoy more “prison break” zoo escape stories.
I've only read the second in the series (Curious George Takes a Job) and that one also didn't sit well with me (George is clearly missing his home; the man in the yellow hat retrieves George from his latest escapade so he can take him to a movie studio to, again, profit off of him). I agree with you about the caging of animals; I find it very difficult to visit zoos for the same reason. Thank you for sharing 'The Journey That Saved Curious George'! I'm familiar with the story of how the Rey's escaped with the manuscript but I haven't read it in a children's book!
Lordy I love this series. I’ve always felt Curious George was rather problematic, but the TV is pretty cute and doesn’t have the intrinsic racist qualities of the books. Some of the later stories are less obviously an issue once it is established that the monkey lives with George and is sort of just a curious little monkey pet. Even in those ones though George keeps getting in trouble for being curious when the Man with the Yellow Hat keeps leaving him UNATTENDED at various dangerous sites…is he trying to get his little monkey in trouble? Not a great caregiver move George…if this was a child of yours I’d hope someone would call CPS on you and your yellow hat. Pay attention to your pet dude. But I digress.
Thanks for another great installment! The collection we have isn’t great but doesn’t include the OG enslavement so I’ll probably leave it on the shelf and continue to make comments against the man in the yellow hat’s caregiving negligence when it does get plucked off the shelf.
Thanks so much for the compliment, Alexis! I agree I think the modern TV series will probably have sanitized George's origins or not touch upon it at all. And yes, all these adults blaming George for being a monkey 🙃
I remember “reading” Curious George and understanding it best through the illustrations. I think it taught me not to use the phone or I might end up in jail! To this day I can’t stand using the telephone. 😂
Haha, if that was your takeaway from the book then I think it was a success (I'm pretty sure that's what the authors intended)! 😆
I was never particularly drawn to Curious George as a kid and I think out of the animal characters you've shared, it's the most blatantly problematic. Reflecting back on my experiences with this series as a child, I think I always struggled with the imagery of the police constantly arresting George. I appreciate the research you put into this newsletter and thank you for encouraging us parents to think more critically about the books we share with our children.
Yes! It's so weird how extreme the "consequences" are for any mishaps George gets into. Thank you for reading!
Wow, I'll be honest I don't remember the origin story of Curious George, and it's pretty blatantly awful as you point out. My kids have all had times when they have enjoyed George (and really the PBS show compared to the books) mainly for what you highlight, his level of curiosity in navigating the world.
Yes, I mentioned in another comment that I think the PBS show is probably a lot more modern in its sensibility. I think the franchise is probably smart enough to realize that there are some problems in the origin story of the series and doesn't focus on that aspect too much.
Edit: To clarify, I haven't seen the PBS show at all so this is just conjecture.
Yes, times change, but this series has always disturbed me. The arrogance and entitlement of the (white) Man in the Yellow Hat and George's anguish are very jarring, even without the obvious allusion to slavery.
100% agree. It's very hard to stomach how much the man in the yellow hat values George for his ability to turn a profit for him.
Thanks for this thoughtful review—the Curious George tv show has been a popular choice during tv time the last few days on the PBS app and I was cringing inside as I read this. I suspected these things to be true but haven’t actually read the original Curious George book in quite a while. We had Curious George Goes to School from the library in the fall but that is the extent of our exposure lately until the last few days, funny enough with the timing of this post. I think I may start moving us back towards Super Why or Daniel Tiger…!
I haven't seen the TV series so I'm really not sure how prevalent the themes of racism and enslavement are--that being said, I imagine the PBS series (which debuted in 2006) is a lot more modern in its sensibility. If it works for you, that's great! I use this series to think critically about the classics so we can guide our kids towards critical thinking too!
I think you’re exactly right about how this series can be used in a productive way! I love the questions at the end of your post. Definitely plan to save this post for when the opportunity arises for these conversations!
I'm glad for your commentary. I happened to read this to my kids in the last 18 months and was like never again! I picked it up because I do have fond memories of the George book that contains the instructions for making a newspaper boat. But this first book - with the kidnapping is really dark.