AR: 2.2

Written by Margaret and H.A. Rey, “Curious George Goes to the Beach” was a very enjoyable book to read that I liked a lot. After reading this story, I found it to have two main purposes. The main purposes of this story are to introduce the reader to the concept of cause and effect, and to teacher the reader that there are consequences for misbehaving. In order to fulfill the book’s purpose, the authors used text elements, such as word choice and layout, illustrations, and a relatable storyline.
One text element that was used to help fulfill the story’s purpose was the word choice. This book is written using very simple language that is clear and easy to understand. Also, the sentences in the text are very short, detailed, and to the point. This allows the reader to comprehend the story easily and follow along with the text without getting lost or confused. Along with this, the author also created a visually appealing text layout throughout the story. For example, on each page, there is text in different areas on the page. This technique catches the reader’s attention and makes the book more fun to read. By engaging the reader in this way, the authors are providing the reader with a better opportunity to comprehend the story.
In addition to word choice and layout, the illustrations also play a part in fulfilling the story’s message. Brightly colored illustrations are included on each page, which keeps the reader engaged and interested in the story. Moreover, the illustrations provided are spread across the page in a sequential way that directly follows the actions of the story and relates to the text on the page. For example, one page’s text says, “George watched the lifeguard. The lifeguard sat in a special chair. Sometimes he blew a whistle.” This page’s illustration directly relates to this text because it depicts George watching the lifeguard sit in his chair, while he plays in the sand. The text-illustration connects created by the authors’ help the reader to comprehend the story more easily because the illustrations give a visual representation to reinforce the text.
Lastly, the author’s use a relatable story line to help fulfill the story’s purpose. Although George is a monkey, he is experiencing difficulty with following directions, which all readers can relate to. Furthermore, the consequences of George’s actions, or the cause and effect situations, are realistic things that could be expected to happen given the situations. This provides the reader with the chance to gain a deeper connection to the storyline and George’s character, which helps the reader really grasp the messages in the story. The use of these different text elements allows the authors’ to successfully fulfill their purposes of introducing the reader to the concept of cause and effect and teaching the reader that there are consequences to our actions, while creating a book that is wonderfully written and truly enjoyable to read. ( )

There are several reasons why I feel this is a good book. For one, I feel the characters in the story are very believable, and are similar to many children. When George first arrives at the beach, he is very anxious to get into the water, build sandcastles, and feed bread to the seagulls. However, when George’s friend, Betsy, arrives at the beach, she is extremely apprehensive toward all of the elements. The story highlights two different kinds of child emotions, both of which many people have experienced in their lifetime. In addition to the characters, I also enjoyed the illustrations. For each activity George engages himself in, an illustration is drawn depicting it. The reader is left with little confusion as to what the author is trying to say. The images are very colorful, and have minute details within them, that bring the scenes to life. The main idea to this story is do not be afraid of your fears. George was afraid that he had made the Man in the yellow hat angry, while Betsy was afraid to swim in the water. In the end, both characters resolved and conquered their fears, and all ended well. ( )

Cute book and we enjoyed reading it together a few times. Now DS is moving onto different interests and I think it's time to release this book to another BookCrosser. ( )

SUMMARY
Curious George goes to the beach with the man with the yellow hat. George plays on the beach, sits in the lifeguards chair, and feeds the seagulls. When the picnic basket floats into the ocean, George swims out and saves that basket. George's friends Betsy, who conquered her fear of swimming, shares her food with him to celebrate.

REVIEW
Curious George is always a great series for young readers. Students will have a fun time following George on his adventures. He shows that curiosity is not a bad thing and that it is okay to explore things that you may be unfamiliar with. I also liked that this book included an underlying theme about overcoming fear with Betsy's fear of the water. This story is also easy for students to connect to because many students have vacationed at a beach before. Some may have even had to conquer a fear of the ocean, just like Betsy! ( )