Monkeys are not positive role models

(You like my picture kick? I'm feeling visual, I guess. Enjoy it while you can.)

So right now, Jessie and I have kind of a beef with Curious George. This is mostly because on my last trip to the library, I checked out the original Curious George, reasoning that since Madeline liked the show, she would like the book as well. This logic proved to be too accurate. Madeline LOVES the book. Madeline must read the book at least twenty times a day. And because George is eating a banana, every third time we read it, Madeline must eat a banana too. We are quickly running out of bananas. This would be bad enough, but it turns out the original Curious George book espouses questionable morals. For one thing, everyone smokes pipes. Including George. With no mention of how little old monkeys who smoke end up with lung cancer. And it encourages the removal of cute little monkeys from Africa, where they can eat bananas and swing on vines, to zoos. Where they play with balloons that could potentially pop, be consumed by the monkey, and asphyxiate the animal. Not to mention the fact that it teaches that little monkeys who accidentally call the fire department go to prison, with no notifying of the monkey's responsible guardian and no lawyers or due process. So Curious George is officially on our hit list. And I would not be surprised if a certain monkey book accidentally got buried in the bottom of a closet until our next library trip.