Curious George Rides a Bike is one of seven delightful tales of a curious little monkey who was adopted by the “man in the yellow hat.” H.A. Rey wrote and illustrated this work in 1952 as evidenced by the depictions of cars, clothes, and activities.
In this installment of George’s crazy antics, the little monkey is celebrating his birthday. The man in the yellow hat has given him a bike and has promised a trip to the circus later in the day. In the meantime, George is left to play with his bike. Having exhausted all bicycle tricks, George befriends the paper boy and finds delivering papers to be great fun…until he gets distracted. Paper hats, a bike wreck, and a stint with the traveling circus ensue. All turns out well in the end, however, as George charms the town into forgiving him his sometimes destructive curiosity.
Curious George resembles children with his imperfection, tendency to be distracted, curiosity, and love of new things. Children can easily relate to this character and empathize with his highest and lowest moments.
The illustrations always show movement though they are simple. The eye travels across the page with ease and context clues abound in the art. The one drawback to these illustrations is their cultural and ethnic monotone. Non-Caucasian children may find difficulty in relating to the supporting characters in this book.
I agree that Non-caucasion children would likely have trouble seeing themselves in this book. The more I think about the shifting of ethnic groups in America I wonder if there will ever come a time when teachers will have to focus on including books that represent the Caucasion student. Food for thought!
ReplyDeleteWhile this book may not be racially diverse, it can be a teaching point for older students. You can discuss the mentality of the 1950's and why the book is not diverse. I was wondering, Is Curious George still a childhood favorite, and if so, how old do children get before they stop loving it?
ReplyDeleteWell Jamie, I'm 22 and I still love it....
ReplyDelete