Curious George

"Curious George: Reads, Writes, and Spells for Grades 1 & 2." Houghton-Mifflin Interactive (hmi), 120 Beacon Street, Somerville, Mass. 02143. Suggested retail price $44.95.This interactive CD-ROM is the fourth title in Houghton-Mifflin's Young Reader's series. The program captures children's interest using the familiar and lovable storybook character, Curious George. His exploits take him on adventures as a cub reporter following the story. There are 12 activities along the way in which children maneuver George around various obstacles and help him stay out of trouble while they practice building reading, writing, spelling and vocabulary skills.

After you and your kids have had your encounter(s) with Curious George this weekend, here are five more things you might want to do in the Inner Harbor area. Maryland Science Center (601 Light St.; 410-685-2370 or mdsci.org): Dinosaurs! Amplified body sounds! Machines that make your hair stand on end! And a movie screen five stories high! What's not to love about the Maryland Science Center? And we haven't even talked about Baltimore's coolest museum gift shop. (OK, maybe the Visionary Art Museum's is better.

BOSTON -- At the center of the Children's Room of the Boston Public Library there is a banner announcing "Welcome Curious George." It hangs appropriately enough over a display of the books that celebrate the famed monkey's high jinks.This is how we think of libraries, of course. Safe havens for the curious. Places where kids do some literary exploration.But nearby is a small bank of computers. There, a very curious George of the human variety surfing the Internet could find some very, very curious stuff.

SATURDAY BALTIMORE BALLET: The Baltimore Ballet celebrates its 10-year anniversary with guest performances by members from American Ballet Theatre, Washington Ballet, Merce Cunningham and Alvin Ailey. Three one-act ballets will also be performed at the gala. The event takes place at the Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave., at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22 to $72. Go to ticketmaster.com. CURIOUS GEORGE: LET'S GET CURIOUS: This exhibit takes kids inside the world of Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat with adventures in math, science and engineering at Port Discovery, 35 Market Place, through June 6. Admission is $12.95.

Traveling, playing sports, reading, flying a kite. There are few things that Curious George, the inquisitive, mischievous little monkey is not interested in. This Monday, the Elkridge Branch Library invites kids ages 2 and older to hear about the adventures of Curious George. Since the chimp from Africa first met the man with the yellow hat 61 years ago, he's had plenty of escapades. The library program, called "Meet Curious George," will include readings of a number of classic George tales, such as Curious George Takes a Job, Curious George Rides a Bike, Curious George Gets a Medal, Curious George Flies a Kite, Curious George Learns the Alphabet and Curious George Goes to the Hospital.

They've given the famous Man in the Yellow Hat a name (Ted), but otherwise all is as it should be in the world of Curious George, a winsome big-screen adaptation of H.A. and Margret Rey's tales of a mischievous monkey and his innocent adventures. The animated film, which adds a few modern touches (a cell phone, for instance), but generally remains true to the original stories, introduces us to George in his native Africa. There, the little guy is a crowd favorite, charming, inquisitive, always with a smile on his face.

This is George. He lived in Africa. He was a good little monkey and always very curious. More than 60 years ago, H.A. and Margret Rey introduced Curious George to the world, and today, the mischievous monkey will be floating down Broadway for the first time to lead the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It's an awesome responsibility for a character known more for his adventures than for his ability to follow directions. But Houghton Mifflin, who recently celebrated George's 60th birthday with a new compilation of the seven original tales written by the Reys, believes George is up to the task.

After you and your kids have had your encounter(s) with Curious George this weekend, here are five more things you might want to do in the Inner Harbor area. Maryland Science Center (601 Light St.; 410-685-2370 or mdsci.org): Dinosaurs! Amplified body sounds! Machines that make your hair stand on end! And a movie screen five stories high! What's not to love about the Maryland Science Center? And we haven't even talked about Baltimore's coolest museum gift shop. (OK, maybe the Visionary Art Museum's is better.

Curious George meets his fans The antics of Curious George have delighted readers for nearly 60 years. Whether he's riding his two-wheeler at the circus or tripping his way into becoming an astronaut, this accident-prone primate promises a crash course in curiosity's consequences. Meet the inquisitive little chimp Friday at Barnes & Noble's White Marsh location at 10:30 a.m., where he'll take a break from his usual monkey business to have his picture taken with kids after story time. 8123 Honeygo Blvd.

"My favorite book is 'Amazing Space Facts' by Dinah L. Moche. It shows illustrations of the planets and space. The book also tells you about the stars and the equipment the astronauts and scientists use."-- Lydia SimonChurch Lane Elementary"My favorite book is 'Curious George' by H.A. Rey. The main character, Curious George, wanted to see what would happen if he pulled the string. When he pulled it, the stage curtain closed so he fixed it and the show went on."-- Corey ShillennJoppa View Elementary

Capsules by Michael Sragow and Chris Kaltenbach. Full reviews at baltimoresun.com/movies. Aquamarine -- is a movie only 14-year-old girls can love. Claire (Emma Roberts) and Hailey (Joanna Levesque) are bumming. Hailey's mom has landed a dream job in Australia. Then a storm deposits a mermaid (Sara Paxton) in their Florida pool. She must find someone to love her in three days or marry her father's pick. For their help, she'll trade one wish. But the boy Aquamarine wants is Raymond (Jake McDorman)

A feature in which Sun critics and writers sound off about the movies. Is nothing sacred? Those who love the Curious George series of children's books know that The Man in the Yellow Hat has no name. Or rather, he already has a perfectly good name. If the world is a sane and orderly place, mail to this character is addressed to The Man in the Yellow Hat. That is how he answers the phone, and that is the name on his birth certificate. He needs no other. But the filmmakers who remade into a movie the books written in 1941 by H.A. and Margret Rey felt it necessary to give TMITYH a more complete identity.

SWEET NATURE Enjoy the mouth-watering taste of fresh maple syrup? Taste this sweet treat and learn how it's made this weekend at Oregon Ridge Nature Center. Watch the transition from sap to syrup as the maple trees are tapped for sap that is then boiled down into syrup. Visitors can also make maple taffy or watch a video about the maple sugaring process. ....................... Oregon Ridge Nature Center, 13555 Beaver Dam Road, Cockeysville, hosts this event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

They've given the famous Man in the Yellow Hat a name (Ted), but otherwise all is as it should be in the world of Curious George, a winsome big-screen adaptation of H.A. and Margret Rey's tales of a mischievous monkey and his innocent adventures. The animated film, which adds a few modern touches (a cell phone, for instance), but generally remains true to the original stories, introduces us to George in his native Africa. There, the little guy is a crowd favorite, charming, inquisitive, always with a smile on his face.

CURIOUS GEORGE -- (Universal Pictures) The story of a little, inquisitive monkey who gets himself into mischief and the Man in the Yellow Hat who must get him out. THE BOYS OF BARAKA -- (THINKFilm) At-risk children from Baltimore are sent to an experimental African school, where they discover inner strength. THE PINK PANTHER -- (MGM Pictures/Columbia Pictures) Steve Martin steps into the shoes of klutzy, clueless Inspector Clouseau. FIREWALL -- (Warner Bros.) A security specialist (Harrison Ford)

The Journey That Saved Curious George Louise Borden; illustrated by Allan Drummond Houghton Mifflin / Ages 8-12 H.A. Rey and his wife, Margret, fled Paris on bicycles in June 1940. Using this central fact, Louise Borden tells two fascinating and overlapping stories. Who was the author of Curious George? And what was life like in South America and Europe in the 1930s and wartime 1940s? This is not the landscape of broad national statistics but of human-size events, like finding the bicycles, loading them, cycling 48 kilometers the first day out of Paris and really enjoying the nights when they could sleep in a real bed or have a bath.

The Complete Adventures of Curious George: 60th Anniversary edition, by Margret and H.A. Rey (Houghton Mifflin, 432 pages, $30). The monkey never learns: Time and again Curious George's innocence and sense of wonder get him into trouble. Time and again his friend The Man with the Yellow Hat bails him out. The little brown simian from Margret and H.A. Rey's series of children's books paints murals of jungle animals on apartment walls, disrupts lunch trays at the hospital and makes boats out of the newspapers he's supposed to deliver.

"My favorite book is 'Animorphs' by K.A. Applegate because at the bottom corner of each page the animal changes into the person. Another thing I like is the names and the animals. I think you should read it."- Eli Anderson, Grade 2Bedford Elementary"We think that 'If I Ran the Circus' is the very best Dr. Seuss book. One reason is because the character drawings are really funny. Another reason is because it is really hilarious when a man tries to jump in a fish bowl. Finally, the illustrations are really bright and colorful."