Curious George Feeds the Animals

PreS-Gr 3 -The timeless antics of Curious George are given new life in this read-along series, which faithfully follows the text of each story. A male narrator, accompanied by minimal musical interludes and sound effects, reads the story, once with page-turn signals and once without on each CD. Sounds effects occasionally explain pertinent parts of the unspoken story, like a splash in the water when George takes a dive into the ocean. Curious George Feeds the Animals has a female reader, with a male counterpart reading the Man with the Yellow Hat's lines. Margaret and H.A. Rey's original character has been entertaining children for decades, but it's hard to imagine a child today who wouldn't be puzzled by The Man with the Yellow Hat plucking George from his environment and transporting him to another country, George's imprisonment (and jail-break!) for inadvertently dialing the fire department while playing with the phone, or the fact that the Man in the Yellow Hat leaves his charge unattended when he takes him to a movie. Still, a naughty anthropomorphic monkey is entertaining, and adults may want to take the opportunity to explain to pint-sized listeners that their monkey-shines won't warrant the same results. Curious George certainly deserves a spot on the shelf, and these engaging stories will provide a good exercise in imagination and creativity. A solid choice, especially with an all-new animated adventure based on the classic tales debuting as a feature film in February 2006.-Kirsten Martindale, formerly Menomonie Public Library, WI