And the Winner is ... Curious George Fans Everywhere

Mrs. Nelson's Toy & Book Shop in La Verne, California, is the winner of the Book Sense Curious George contest, sponsored by George's publisher, Houghton Mifflin. Booksellers who participated in the promotion, which ran from mid-December to March 1, 2006, were eligible for the random drawing for the prize. Using the Curious George-wrapped disposable camera, which was sent to booksellers in a special Yellow Box mailing in early December, Mrs. Nelson's captured scenes at the 21-year-old store during its special George-driven events. The prize included a complete Curious George library, a Fossil limited-edition Curious George women's watch, and a Curious George plush toy from Ross Berrie.

Andrea Vuleta, the store's manager, spoke to BTW about the event and the prize. She and the staff were very excited to win the merchandise, she said. "This [Curious George] event was the first one I was able to plan for the store as I started the first week of Christmas. There was a lot of staff enthusiasm to make it successful -- we featured it on our website, in newsletters and e-mails, and in the store and local papers," she continued.

"Our main goal was to attract some new traffic. We mainly focused on preschool and mothers groups for private [unscheduled] story times, and made George available on Saturday, January 28, for everyone." At the events, George and his friend, in a big yellow hat, read several stories, signed books, and handed out bananas. The staff provided materials and instructions to make a cover for George's next book, and to begin writing the story, if possible.

"We had a much greater response than we anticipated," she noted. "[We were] down to five books total one day, but were able to restock quickly. Plush sold incredibly well, too. The movie drove some of the intensity, but we are still selling at a much higher rate than previous years, two months after [February 10, the movie release date]."

Vuleta said that at their next meeting, the staff will vote on the distribution of the prizes, "We are considering the books for a gift to a local hospital children's ward. The staff was so enthusiastic about this event. The watch and plush may go to individuals here."

One characteristic of Curious George came as a surprise to Vuleta: "A person couldn't be taller than about 5'2" to fit into the costume we got, so I ended up being George a lot." --Nomi Schwartz