Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey and illustrated by Alan Shalleck. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. George is described as "a good little monkey, and always very curious". Despite being referred to as a monkey throughout the series, he is depicted without a tail. In the first book, George is caught by "The Man in the Yellow Hat" and taken from Africa to America where the two live together. George and the Man in the Yellow Hat become friends and are shown going on adventures together. George's first appearance was as a monkey named "Fifi" in the book Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys, which was first published in France during 1939 in the late years. The popularity of the character led the Reys to feature "George" in his own series. Creation The original series was written by the husband-and-wife team of Hans Augusto (H. A.) Rey and Margret Rey. The Jewish couple fled Paris in June 1940, on self-made bicycles, carrying the Curious George manuscript with them. At first, only H. A. Rey was credited for the work in order to distinguish the Reys' books from the large number of children's books written by female authors. The first seven books were illustrated by H.A. Rey. Later, Alan J. Shalleck was credited for the illustrations and Hans Rey and Margret Rey for the writing. The Reys produced many other children's books, but the Curious George series was the most popular. Each book has been in continuous print since it was first published. Literature Margret and H. A. Rey released seven "Curious George" books during H. A. Rey's lifetime. Recently, more Curious George books have been released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt including board books with scenes from the original books, books adapted from the 1980s telefilm series, and new adventures. Original Adventures Curious George appeared in 1941. This book begins with George living in Africa and tells the story of his capture by the Man with the Yellow Hat, who takes him on a ship to "the big city" where he will live in a zoo. The second book, Curious George Takes a Job (1947), begins with George living in the zoo, from which he escapes and has several adventures before