Book 273

Curious George Visits the Zoo, based on characters created by Margret and H.A. Rey, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998.

I don't like the premise of the original Curious George story, but I do like the stories that have come out of that premise.  Before I started reading the book, I was afraid that George would end up in the monkey cage.  He doesn't, and he even helps out a little boy who lost his balloon to the monkeys.  My five-year-old son has no problem with Curious George.  He sees George as a five-year-old boy who is really good at climbing.  And that is why the stories work.

The illustrations, even in the first Curious George book, are absolute perfection.  I wouldn't change one line of them, although, I am glad that the zoos that we visit bear no resemblance to the zoo in this book.