Curious George

Year Published: 1941

Author: Hans Augusto Rey

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: Kindergarten to Grade 2

Theme: Curiosity

Skill Taught: Compare and Contrast

Summary: This book is about a curious brown monkey named George who is brought to a big city by a man in a yellow hat.  George originally lived in the jungles of Africa.  While traveling to a big city, George falls off a boat pretending to be a bird.  When they have arrived to the city, George calls the fire department on accident and gets put in jail.  He escapes from jail and then takes a bunch of balloons from a vendor in the street.  George takes one too many balloons and floats over the city and eventually onto a traffic light.  The man with the yellow hat rescues him, buys the balloons, and then takes him to the zoo.

For the Classroom

Pre-Reading Activity: I would begin class by having students open to a clean page in their writers notebook.  I would model on the front board what I would like students to do in their notebooks.  I would make a Venn diagram, labeling the far left circle "City,"  the far right circle "Jungle," and the the middle circle "Same." Together as a class, we would write down the differences between a jungle and a city, as well as their similarities. 

Post-Reading Activity: Finishing the class read aloud, students would open up their writers notebook and write about their experiences at the zoo.  I would post questions on the front board for students to answer such as "What is your favorite animal and why?" "What animals did you touch or feed?" "What do the people do who work at the zoo?" "What did you find interesting or shocked you at the zoo?" Once students have had class time to finish, I would check to their notebooks to see if they have answered the questions and ask for volunteers to share their thoughts to the class.

Reflection: The Curious George series were books I grew up with during my childhood.  As a child, I like the adventures George would go on and explore the world much of the same way I would imagine myself doing.  Looking back on the series, I have learned that George teaches a simple, yet valuable lesson; in order to learn, one needs to be curious.  As a future educator, teaching students to always ask questions is important to their development and learning experience.  

Buy this book now at Amazon.com