Curious George Gets a Medal is a children's book written and illustrated by Margret Rey

Margret Rey

Margret Elizabeth Rey , born Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein, was , the co-author and illustrator of children's books, the most famous of which are the Curious George series....

 and H. A. Rey

H. A. Rey

Hans Augusto "H.A." Rey , worked with his wife Margret Rey as authors and illustrators of children's books. They were best known for their Curious George series.-Curious George Book Series:Hans and Margret were both Jewish and of German birth...

 and published by Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...

 in 1957

1957 in literature

The year 1957 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Lawrence Durrell publishes the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet. The final of the four volumes will be published in 1960....

. It is the fourth book in the original Curious George

Curious George

Curious George is the protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious brown monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city.When...

 series, and tells the story of George's flight into space. The story was published only weeks before the Soviets launched Sputnik II and Rey wanted to share his interests in space travel with children.

Plot

George makes a mess with ink and a fountain pen and tries to wash it away with the garden hose, but the room fills with water and he hurries to a nearby farm to get a portable pump. He is chased by the farmer but eludes him by entering a museum. He makes another mess with a dinosaur display but Professor Wiseman wants him to go up in a space ship and then bail out. George agrees and is given a tiny space suit. At the critical moment, it is uncertain whether George will jump or not, but he does and the experiment is a success. George is carried to Earth by a parachute and is awarded a medal.