I’d love to give a special birthday “shout out” to Curious George. He’s 75 years old TODAY! He doesn’t look that old, that is for sure.
I cannot believe that Curious George has been around for that long. I grew up reading his books. I also read his books to my own children, who are now teenagers.
I remember when I was a very young girl the time my mom gave me a book she picked up from a garage sale. It was a book about a monkey. For the life of me I can’t remember the title. I can visualize it, and I have tried to Google it over the years, but I simply cannot find it.
I loved that book. It was one of my favorite books. Sadly, I lost the book at school and it was never found. No one brought it to the lost and found either. I was crushed. I loved that book.
My mom didn’t know what to do. She thought if she bought me another book about a monkey that maybe I’d forget about that other book. The book she bought me to replace my lost book was a Curious George book. It looked like the one (pictured below).
I THINK this was the first Curious George book published.
From the first time I read this book I became an instant fan of the adorable, mischievous monkey.
I’ve always been an animal lover, so it made sense that I would enjoy stories about an adorable monkey. Back then I even wished I owned a stuffed Curious George (I don’t think a plush was available way back then). I did have some plush monkeys that I pretended to be Curious George, including a classic sock monkey.
I had several Curious George books growing up. I don’t know what happened to them. I guess my mom donated them when I got older. Sigh…
When my daughter was a toddler I picked up a few Curious George books to read to her.
What I love about Curious George is that he hasn’t changed much over the years. His looks only changed a little bit. He still looks a lot like the original Curious George from the books I grew up with. The stories are still just as wonderful and entertaining as they were when I was little.
When my son was born I read the books to him as well. I even kept them, but currently they are buried in my father’s basement along with other things from my kid’s childhoods.
I am hoping that one day my children read the Curious George books to their children someday (my future grandchildren). Curious George is a timeless classic that can be enjoyed today or even 100 years from now.
To this day I still enjoy reading Curious George books – even ones I have read over and over again.
I love that there is a Curious George series on television (PBS). It’s great that Curious George is being appreciated and loved by a whole new generation.
I even FINALLY have my very own Curious George plush toy – just like what I wanted when I was a child. Better late than never. LOL!
I even have a wonderful set of Curious George books that I keep on our family bookcase that I hope to read to the kids I work with (I’m a teacher’s assistant for a Kindergarten class) as well as my future grandchildren.
These days there are so many fun Curious books and toys readily available. That is because everyone loves this sweet little monkey and friends.
Do you have a favorite Curious George memory? What about a favorite Curious George book? Feel free to share your thoughts. I always love to hear from readers.
In addition, feel free to wish Curious George a “Happy Birthday” on social media. Please use the hashtag #GetCurious.
Kimberly
*I received some free goodies in exchange for my participation. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.