A Treasury of Curious George
Page 1
A Treasury of Curious George
Margret and H. A. Rey
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A Treasury of
Curious George
A Treasury of
Curious George
Margret and H. A. Rey
Illustrated in the style of H. A. Rey by Vipah Interactive and Martha Weston
Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
* * *
Compilation copyright © 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company
All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
Curious George Takes a Train © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Curious George Visits a Toy Store © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Curious George and the Dump Truck © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Curious George and the Birthday Surprise © 2003 Houghton Mifflin Company
Curious George Goes Camping © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Curious George Goes to a Costume Party © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Curious George Visits the Library © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Curious George in the Big City © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Based on the character of Curious George ®, created by Margret and H. A. Rey.
Curious George ® is a registered trademark of Houghton Mifflin Company.
Curious George and the Dump Truck and Curious George Goes Camping illustrated by Vipah
Interactive, Wellesley, Massachusetts: C. Becker, D. Fakkel, M. Jensen, S. SanGiacomo, C. Witte, C. Yu.
Remaining selections illustrated by Martha Weston.
ISBN 0-618-53822-4
Manufactured in Singapore
TWP 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
A Treasury of
Curious George
Contents
Curious George Takes a Train 1
Curious George Visits a Toy Store 25
Curious George and the Dump Truck 49
Curious George and the Birthday Surprise 73
Curious George Goes Camping 97
Curious George Goes to a Costume Party 121
Curious George Visits the Library 145
Curious George in the Big City 169
MARGRET & H.A. REY'S
Curious George
Takes a Train
Illustrated in the style of H. A. Rey by Martha Weston
Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
This is George.
He was a good little monkey and always very curious.
This morning George and the man with the yellow hat were at the train station.
They were taking a trip to the country with their friend, Mrs. Needleman. But first they had to get tickets.
Inside the station everyone was in a hurry. People rushed to buy newspapers to read and treats to eat. Then they rushed to catch their trains.
But one little boy with a brand-new toy engine was not in a hurry. Nor was the small crowd next to him. They were just standing in one spot looking up. George looked up, too.
A trainmaster was moving numbers and letters on a big sign.
Soon the trainmaster was called away. But his job did not look finished. George was curious. Could he help?
George climbed up in a flash.
Then, just like the trainmaster, he picked a letter off the sign and put it in a different place.
Next he took the number 9 and put it near a 2.
George moved more letters and more numbers. He was glad to be such a big help.
"Hey," yelled a man from below. "I can't tell when my train leaves!"
"What track is my train on?" asked another man.
"What's that monkey doing up there?" demanded a woman. She did not sound happy.
The trainmaster did not sound happy either: "Come down from there right now!" he hollered at George.
Poor George. It's too easy for a monkey to get into trouble. But, lucky for George, it's also easy for a monkey to get out of trouble.
Right then the conductor shouted, "All aboard!"
A crowd of people rushed toward the train. George simply slid down a pole,
scurried over a suitcase, and squeezed with the crowd through the gate. There he found the perfect hiding place for a monkey.
The little boy with the toy engine also ran through the gate.
"Look, Daddy," he said, "a train!"
His father looked up. "Come back, son," he yelled. "That's not our train!"
But it was too late. The gate locked behind him.
The boy began to cry.
George peeked out of his hiding place.
He saw the boy's toy roll toward the tracks.
The boy ran after it.
This time George knew he could help. He leaped out of his hiding place and ran fast. George grabbed the toy engine before the little boy came too close to the tracks.
What a close call!
When the trainmaster opened the gate, the boy's father ran to his son.
The boy was not crying now.
He was playing with his new friend.
"So, there you are," said the trainmaster when he saw George. "You sure made a lot of trouble on the big board!"
"Please don't be upset with him," said the boy's father. "He saved my son."
The people on the platform agreed. They had seen what had happened, and they clapped and cheered. George was a hero!
Just then the man with the yellow hat arrived with Mrs. Needleman. "It's time to go, George," he said. "Here comes our train."
"This is our train, too," the father said. The little boy was excited. "Can George ride with us?" he asked.
That sounded like a good idea to everyone. So the trainmaster asked the conductor to find them a special seat.
And he did.
Right up front.
The end.
MARGRET & H.A. REY'S
Curious George
Visits a Toy Store
Illustrated in the style of H. A. Rey by Martha Weston
Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
This is George.
He was a good little monkey and always very curious.
Today was the opening of a brand-new toy store. George and the man with the yellow hat did not want to be late.
When they arrived, the line to go inside wound all the way around the corner. When a line is this long, it's not easy for a little monkey to be patient. George sneaked through the crowd. All he wanted was a peek inside.
George got to the door just as the owner opened it.
"This is no place for a monkey," she said.
But George was so excited he was already inside! Balls, dolls, bicycles, and games filled the shelves.
There were so many toys—
George didn't even know how some of them worked.
And how about these hoops? What did they do?
George was curious. He climbed up to pull one out of the pile.
It would not move.
George pulled harder.
Still it wouldn't move.
George pulled with all fours.
Suddenly there was a terrible crash.
Red, blue, green, and yellow hoops bounced up and down and everywhere.
"Look!" exclaimed a boy, bouncing up and down himself.
"Why, I haven't seen one of these in years!" said the boy's grandmother.
She put a hoop around her waist and gave it a spin.
George tried the hula hoop, too!
Then George pretended to be a wheel.
He rolled and rolled and....
The owner shook her head. "I knew you were trouble," she said. "Now you've made a mess of my new store."
Again she tried to stop George.
And again George was too quick.
In only a second he was around the corner and on the highest shelf.
Below him, George saw a little girl point to a toy out of reach. "Mommy, can we get that dinosaur?" she asked.
George picked up the dinosaur and lowered it to the girl.
She was delighted. So was the small boy next to her. "Could you get that ball for me, please?" he asked George.
George reached up, grabbed the ball, and bounced it to the boy.
"May I have that puppet way over there?" asked another girl.
How lucky that George was a monkey! He swung off the shelf, hung on to a light, picked up the puppet, and put it right into her hands.
"What a show!" shouted a boy. The children held up their new toys and cheered. What a commotion!
Immediately the owner came running, and then came the man with the yellow hat.
"I think we've had enough monkey business for one day," the owner frowned.
Just then a girl got in the long line to pay. "What a great store," she said.
"What a great idea to have a little monkey helping you," her father told the owner.
"I guess you're right," the owner replied, and smiled.
Then she gave George a special surprise.
"Thank you, George," she said. "My grand opening is a success because of you. Perhaps monkey business is the best business after all."
The end.
MARGRET & H.A. REY'S
Curious George
and the Dump Truck
Illustrated in the style of H. A. Rey by Vipah Interactive
Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
This is George.
He lived with his friend, the man with the yellow hat.
He was a good little monkey and always very curious.
This morning George was playing with his toys when he heard a funny noise outside his window.
It sounded like a QUACK. George was curious. What could be quacking underneath his window?
It was a duck, of course!
Then George heard another QUACK—and another.
Why, it was not just one duck—it was a mother duck and five small ducklings.
Ducklings were something new to George. How funny they were!
He watched the ducklings waddle after their mother. Where were they going?
George was not curious for long...
Soon he was waddling after Mother Duck, too!
Now he could see where they were going.
The ducks waddled all the way to the park. George loved the park. Today he saw children flying kites and gardeners planting trees by the pond. Then George saw something he had never seen in the park before.
It was a dump truck. And it was big—in fact, George was not even as tall as one wheel!
George forgot all about the ducklings and stopped to look.
It would be fun to sit in such a big truck, thought George.
No one was inside the truck. And the window was wide open. George could not resist.
But sitting in a big truck was not so fun for a little monkey after all.
George could not even see out the window.
He was too small.
If only there were something to climb on.
Would this make a good step for a monkey?
It did! Now George could see out the window. He saw grass and trees and a family eating a picnic. Suddenly George heard a low rumbling sound. Was it his stomach rumbling? he wondered. (It had been a long time since breakfast.)
But the rumbling was not coming from George's stomach...
It was coming from the back of the truck! George was curious. He climbed out of the window. Then, like only a monkey can, he swung
up to the top of the truck.
Now he could take a look. He saw the truck was filled with dirt.
George was excited.
What could be better than a truck full of dirt?
George jumped right in the middle of it. Sitting on top of the dirt, George felt the truck bed begin to tilt...
It tilted higher and higher. The dirt began to slide. It was sliding right into the pond—and George slid with it. George was having fun.
But the pile in the pond got bigger
and bigger
and BIGGER.
And soon the fun was gone.
Just then the gardeners came back from lunch and stood with their mouths wide open.
They saw the empty dump truck, the pile of dirt in the pond, and a very muddy monkey.
They knew just what had happened.
But before they could say a word, George heard a familiar sound.
He heard more quacking.
The gardeners heard it, too. Then they heard people laughing.
"Look!" said a girl. "The ducks have their own island!"
Indeed they did. The pile of dirt made an island in the pond—and Mother Duck and all her ducklings were waddling right on top.
George was sorry he had made such a mess, but the gardeners didn't seem to mind. "We were planting more trees and flowers to make the park nicer for people," said one of the gardeners. "But you've made the park nicer for ducks, too."
Later a small crowd gathered at the pond. "Would you like to help me feed the ducks?" a girl asked George. George was delighted. Soon everyone was enjoying the park more than ever before, including the ducks, who were the happiest of all in their new home.
The end.
MARGRET & H.A. REY'S
Curious George
and the Birthday Surprise
Illustrated in the style of H. A. Rey by Martha Weston
Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
This is George. He was a good little monkey and always very curious.
"Today is a special day," the man with the yellow hat told George at breakfast. "I have a surprise planned and lots to do to get ready. You can help me by staying out of trouble."
George was happy to help.
Later, while George was looking out the window (and being very good), he heard some tinkly music. It was coming from an ice cream truck! George watched as a whole line of children and their dogs enjoyed some ice cream treats. It looked like fun.
But when the ice cream truck moved on, George forgot all about staying out of trouble and went to find some fun of his own.
In the living room George found noisemakers...
and hats...
and games!
Could this be part of his friend's surprise?
Before George could find out, he spotted some streamers, balloons, and colored tissue. He could not resist....
Decorating was easy for a little monkey!
Still, George was curious about the surprise. And what was that good smell coming from the kitchen? George followed his nose.
Mmmm. It was a cake! And it looked as good as it smelled. All it needed was frosting. George had seen his friend make frosting before.
But today his friend was busy.
Maybe George could help.
He could frost the cake himself!
First George put a bit of this in the mixing bowl.
Next he added a bit of that.
Then he turned the mixer on.
The frosting whirled around and around.
It was whirling too fast! But when George to stop the mixer it only went faster
and faster
and FASTER!
George lifted the beaters out of the bowl. Frosting flew everywhere!
Poor George. He did not mean to make such a mess. He had only wanted to help. Now how could he clean up the sticky kitchen?
Just then George heard the tinkly music again. The ice cream truck was coming back up the street, and George had an idea. Quickly he opened the door...
and invited all of the
dogs in for a treat!
In no time, the kitchen was as clean as a whistle.
When the dogs finished their snack George took them back outside. The ice cream truck was still there. And so was his friend!
"George!" said the man with the yellow hat. "I've been looking for you. It's time for the surprise!"
George had found hats, games, decorations, and a cake.
He was curious.
Was the surprise a party?