Martin, Justin, and Liza Charlesworth. Keep Curious and Carry a Banana: Wisdom from the World of Curious George. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. [80p.]. $12.99. ISBN 978-0-544-65648-2.
This inspirational book will make a great graduation gift (along with some money of course!), containing homilies inspired by the “Curious George” character created by H.A. and Margret Rey. For example, the phrase “It’s a zoo out there. So keep your sense of humor,” is paired with the illustration of George and a red balloon in a tree. Even though the phrases are original, the artwork is taken from various “Curious George” books.
Although this seems aimed at adults, similar to Charles Schulz’s Happiness Is a Warm Puppy, or Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book, children may like this as well. The advice in this book is just as meaningful as other graduation books, such as Maria Shriver’s And One More Thing Before You Go, and this will be read cover to cover. Because the artwork is from the original series, this has an authenticity. More of a gift book than a library purchase, but a nice read.
Penny Peck, San Jose State University iSchool
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