Curious George is Sweet & Curious...Right?

Old-school fairy tales are terrifying.

An evil witch has an appetite for children. A mean lady is trying to kill the nice princess. All of the moms die and are replaced by evil stepmothers. Since our son Lochlan is just about three (big day is tomorrow), we are still trying to avoid these types of plotlines. Enter, Curious George. Loch has a deep affection for this little monkey. George is sweet and curious and likes to get into mischief, all of which I believe Lochlan identifies with on a personal level.

George takes over a pancake breakfast. So cute!

George accidentally let the baby bunny out of her cage. Adorable!

On a recent gander at my neighborhood Buy Nothing group , someone was giving away a box of vintage George books (circa late 1960s) and I snapped them up. I mean, Lochlan loves this curious little monkey. Once I had a chance to look at the books, I have to admit, I was surprised with the darker, tragedy laden, C.G. experience that I was unaware of.

Curious George Goes to the Dentist introduces the concept of going to the dentist as a frightening journey filled with toothaches, shots, and crying. Lots of crying. We also discover that nurses are young and pretty.

Reading Curious George Learns the Alphabet, we discover...

“Alligators will eat you if you don’t watch out.” Don't worry Lochlan, we don’t live in Florida.

“Bees might sting, and that would be bad.” Ouch.

“Crabs can be funny, but they can also pinch you.” Again, ouch.

“Dinosaurs have all died out.” Ready to explain death to a preschooler?

“Never fool the fire department, or you go to jail, and that’s not fun.” Time to explain the prison system.

“The lucky lion is having a leg of lamb for lunch.” Not so lucky for the sweet baby lamb.

“Two roosters will start a rumpus. They really can get rough”. Yay! Cock fighting!

In Curious George Goes to the Hospital, George swallows a puzzle piece and is admitted into the children's ward at the hospital. He is made to drink sweet, thick barium before his x-ray, meets a boy named Dave who is having a painful blood transfusion and a girl named Betsy who doesn’t smile. When George’s friend the man in the big yellow hat goes home, “George lays in bed and cries himself to sleep.”

Sweet dreams everyone.



Comments

  1. This is why i preview all kid books before I read them to C. Its crazy how many books have plots like this or even use the words fat and ugly. She will get enough of that exposure in her life...they dont need it now.

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