The movie that George and the man with the yellow hat have been waiting to see is now playing! Once inside the darkened theater, George is curious about the light coming from the back of the room. As usual, George's curiosity gets him into trouble but his clever tricks save the day. The adventures of Curious George continue in an all-new series beginning in fall 1998 with eight new stories. Written and illustrated in the style of Margret and H. A. Rey, the books will appear in paperback (8 x 8") and hardcover editions and will feature the art of Vipah Interactive, the animators of HMI's Curious George CD-ROMs. "Though he had promised to be good, little monkeys sometimes forget..." Curious George and his friend, the man with the yellow hat, have been waiting to see this movie for a long time, and finally it's here! When his friend goes to get popcorn, George watches the beginning of the movie. Soon, inevitably, this inquisitive chimp gets curious. Is that light at the back of the theater the place where the movie comes from? Curiosity doesn't kill the cat--or the ape--but it sure gets him in a lot of messes! Quick as a wink, George has managed to get tangled up in the film, and the audience is getting restless. Luckily, resourceful George finds a way to save the day. The wonders of modern technology, combined with creative genius, have brought Curious George to life again. Based on the original Curious George character, and written and illustrated in the style of Margret and H.A. Rey, George's latest adventure features the art of Vipah Interactive, the animators of Curious George CD-ROMs. Even the toughest critics of all--young children--will be unfazed by the melding of the traditional and the newfangled. George is still George. Curious about George's other escapades? Try The Complete Adventures of Curious George . (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter PreSchool-Grade 1-These two books take a familiar, favorite character and create an imitation of his curiosity, but without the Reys' usual spark and attention to detail. In Hot Air Balloon, George is playing with an anchor rope and the balloon takes off with him aboard. It blows quite close to the nose of George Washington at Mt. Rushmore where the monkey unwittingly rescues a worker and becomes a hero. He is rewarded with a helicopter ride around the monument. When Curious George Goes to a Movie, the man with the yellow hat leaves to get popcorn and George goes up to the projection booth where he startles the projectionist, who knocks the reels off the projector. While he untangles the film, George does shadow figures to amuse the audience and again becomes a hero. Both books read like anemic summaries of the original Curious George adventures, but with the lessons eliminated. It is disconcerting that this George never receives so much as a mention of the follies of his curiosity, but is immediately rewarded for a chance good deed, which happens as part of the cover-up for his naughtiness. Both the blandness and the mixed messages make these titles bad advertising for the real Curious George. Nancy A. Gifford, Schenectady County Public Library, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Hans and Margret Rey created many books during their lives together, including  Curious George , one of the most treasured classics of all time, as well as other favorites like  Spotty  and  Pretzel.  But it was their rambunctious little monkey who became an instantly recognizable icon. After the Reys escaped Paris by bicycle in 1940 carrying the manuscript for the original  Curious George , the book was published in America in 1941. More than 200 Curious George titles followed, with 75 million books sold worldwide. Curious George has been successfully adapted into a major motion picture and an Emmy-winning television show on PBS.   The Reys were born in Hamburg, Germany. Hans Augusto Rey (1898-1977) met his wife-to-be, Margret (1906-1996), at a party in her father’s home in Germany; when he first caught a glimpse of her, she was sliding down the banister. In their twenties and thirties they lived in Paris and in Rio de Janeiro, where Hans sold bathtubs in villages along the Amazon River. Eventually Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the Reys’ home and community. Throughout their lives the Reys created many lively books together, including SPOTTY, PRETZEL, and lift-the-flap books such as HOW DO YOU GET THERE? The manuscript of the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and CURIOUS GEORGE was published in 1941. Their incorrigible little monkey has become an American icon, selling millions of books and capturing the hearts of readers everywhere. CURIOUS GEORGE has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. Additional Curious George books followed, as well as such o