" Bring Home Holiday Sprit"


With Christmas only 360 hours away, millions of people around the world are making preparations to celebrate the upcoming holidays with family and friends. They’ll be embellishing the outside of homes with signs of goodwill and colorful illuminations. Most will be decorating trees with twinkling lights, shiny ornaments, and tasty candy canes. Some, like me, will also be doing a little last minute shopping, search diligently for the perfect gift for that special, almost-forgotten someone.

When it comes to preparing for the holiday, the Columbus Public Library is no exception. Many wonderful Christmas books are displayed for children of all ages, including some the classics like “The Night before Christmas” and “Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer.” A number of new texts can be found within this holiday collection as well.

One of them is “Merry Christmas Curious George” by Cathy Hapka. This adventurous tale, staring everybody’s favorite little primate, Curious George, begins when George is separated from his friend, the man in the yellow hat. The two are at a local tree farm, searching for the perfect Christmas tree. Though George promises to be a good little monkey, he quickly became excited at the sight of so many trees he has never seen before. To help find his way back to his friend, George scurries up the tallest evergreen he can find.

But before he has time to climb down, two men harvest the pine and load it onto their big, loud truck…with George in tow. As the truck approaches the exit to the nursery, George spies the man in the yellow hat. He tries to find a safe way off the truck, but it moves too quickly and George is whisked through the farm gates.
Later, the truck and its cargo come to a halt in front of the Children’s Hospital. Seeing his chance, George jumps for freedom and is soon surrounded by the business of the medical facility. With lots to see and explore, our curious little friend wastes no time. He first makes his way to the x-ray room where George has a wonderful time sifting through the many interesting pictures just “hanging” around. He then wanders into a patient’s room where he discovers a large bouncy bed.

After getting a little dizzy, George comes upon a cart filled to the brim with wonder books. He decides race up and down the halls of the hospital in it. All is fun, until a grumpy nurse notices our curious little buddy. To escape the glare of the staff member, George hides in a room where the bare evergreen has been stood. George knows that the tree has a special purpose…to one day become someone’s Christmas tree, so he has an idea.
To find out what George’s plan is and to see if he is reunited with the man in a yellow hat, stop by the Columbus Public Library and checkout Cathy Hapka’s “Merry Christmas Curious George”