Parents' Guide to

Curious George

Book H. A. Rey Adventure 1973
Curious George Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

By Mary Dixon Weidler , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 3+

Michievous monkey's antics will have kids laughing.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 3+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 7 parent reviews

mrsLiz
mrsLiz Adult
December 8, 2020
age 18+

Allegory in favor of slavery.

A white man goes and takes a brown sentient being from Africa, brings him to America, and makes it assimilate and punishes it when is makes mistakes. Sound familiar? Curious George is an allegory in favor of slavery. My daughter received it as a baby. I read it to her once and was appalled it was still in circulation. No thank you.
Katherine R.
Katherine R. Parent of 8, 10, 14, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
March 14, 2024
age 4+

See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

What happens when you take a curious monkey out of the jungle and set him loose in the big city? When the monkey is Curious George, the answer is chaos ... and a whole lot of fun! It's one adventure after another until he is arrives happily at the zoo.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (12 ):

George's insatiable curiosity -- and children's understanding of what could go wrong -- make this book such a fun read. This classic from 1941 has been criticized in recent times for seeming to condone colonialism, as it portrays the white Man in the Yellow Hat taking George from the African jungle to the big city with intentions of "civilizing" him.

Author-illustrator H. A. Rey takes care to fill every other page with a colorful cartoon-like drawing. One outstanding picture shows an aerial view of George holding balloons and floating over the city. However, sometimes a series of thumbnail pictures appears on one page and can confuse young children.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how George keeps getting into trouble. Why do you think he does?

  • What other George stories have you read or seen on TV? Why do kids love him so much?

  • Why is George in such serious trouble after the fire-station incident? What would happen if you accidentally summoned a fire truck in real life?

Book Details

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