''Curious George Takes a Job'' is a children's book written and illustrated by

Margret Rey Margret Elizabeth Rey (born Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein; May 16, 1906 – December 21, 1996) was a German-born American writer and illustrator, best known for the ''Curious George'' series of children's picture books that she and her husband H. ...

and

H. A. Rey H. A. Rey (born Hans Augusto Reyersbach; September 16, 1898 – August 26, 1977) was a German-born American illustrator and author, known best for the series of children's picture books that he and his wife Margret Rey created about ''Curious ...

and published by

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

in 1947. It is the second of the ''

Curious George Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written and illustrated by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original ...

'' books and tells the story of George taking a job as a window washer.

Plot

The book picks up where the first book ends. George is living in the zoo, until he gets a key from a

zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

and escapes his cage. In the city, George sneaks into a restaurant where he is caught in the kitchen eating a pot of spaghetti and forced by the cook to wash the dishes, but he does a splendid job. As a reward, the cook takes him to meet an elevator man, who gives him a job as a

window washer Window cleaning, or window washing, is the exterior cleaning of architectural glass used for structural, lighting, or decorative purposes. It can be done manually, using a variety of tools for cleaning and access. Technology is also employed and ...

for a tall apartment building. As George works, he observes many people in the different windows, such as a boy refusing to eat spinach and a man sleeping. Once he reaches the final window, he notices a room behind the window being painted. George lets curiosity get to him again (after the elevator man tells him not to be too curious), he enters the apartment just as the painters leave for lunch and decides to paint it for them. An hour later, the painters return and see that George has given the room a jungle theme, including painting the furniture coverings as animals. Furious, the painters, the elevator man, and the woman owning the apartment chase him out of the room and down a fire escape, followed by the other tenants. George then jumps from the end of the stairway, thinking he will be home free but forgets how hard the pavement is. The jump causes him to break his leg and an ambulance soon arrives to take George to the hospital. As they look on, the others feel that this is what George deserves for painting the room and being too curious. In the hospital, he unhappily lies in bed with his leg in a cast hanging above him. George's incident makes it to the front page of a local newspaper. After he and his incident both end up on the news, the Man with the Yellow Hat sees it and he contacts the hospital to claim him. Once George's leg has healed, he climbs out of bed and winds up tampering with a bottle of ether which knocks him out cold. The Man with the Yellow Hat, the doctor, and the nurse find him and manage to bring him around after putting him under a cold shower. Afterwards, George signs a contract with a film studio to make a movie about his life, which he and all of the townsfolk he met later come to watch in the theater.

Reception

The book has received reviews from publications including ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'', ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', and ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

''.

References

{{Curious George 1947 children's books American picture books Curious George Houghton Mifflin books Children's books about monkeys