From the Lampert Library
Curious George turns 75 on September 17. That’s also Curiosity Day, inspired by the ever popular monkey. We should sing a hearty Yom Huledit Sameach for the beloved curious monkey who almost didn’t make it.
Did you know that Curious George is Jewish? Or at least his “parents,” H. A. Rey (originally Reyersbach) and Margret E. Rey were. George’s creators were born in Germany, married in Brazil and moved to Paris after their marriage.
It was in Paris that Hans Augusto Rey wrote a story called Raffy and the Nine Monkeys with Curious George as one of the characters. But he wasn’t called George yet; his name was Fifi. But he very soon became the star of his own book. However, before the book could be published, the Reys were forced to escape Paris as the Nazis moved to take the city.
Early on June 14, 1940, riding on bicycles made from spare parts, carrying nothing but a little food, a few pieces of clothing and several manuscripts, they set off for the Spanish border. Four days later, they sold the bicycles for a ticket to Lisbon. They then went on to Brazil and finally New York where in 1941, Curious George was published.
The original seven stories by the Reys – he did most of the art and she did most of the writing-have been in print ever since and have grown to 133 titles in 26 languages including Yiddish, Hebrew, Afrikaans, and Braille. There are 75 million copies of Curious George books in print! Additional books keep appearing and an Emmy Award winning TV series ran for several seasons.
A few years ago their adventurous escape was described in The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden. Ms Borden said, “Everyone knows who Curious George is. He has an enduring quality. I fell in love with both of them (the Reys). They’re amazing people, true artists.”
The Reys spent their last years in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After her husband’s death in 1977, Margret became a professor of creative writing at Brandeis University and collaborated on the film series and several other books. She died in 1996.
Although Hans and Margret passed away many years ago, The Curious George Foundation, begun by Margret, lives on. It funds programs to help creative children and prevent cruelty to animals.
While the Curious George books have no overtly Jewish content, George’s story has elements of the Reys’ life. There is a new short film biography being made by filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki. Click here for a link to the trailer. http://vimeo.com/176031250.
You never know who you’ll discover with Jewish roots-even America’s favorite monkey.
See below for other books on display about escapes and rescues during World War II.
Borden, The Journey that saved Curious George: the true wartime escape of Margret & H.A. Rey (J)
Ackerman, The Zookeeper’s Wife
Drucker, Kindertransport (J)
Farnsworth, Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto (J)
Fox, 10, 000 Children: true stories told by children who escaped the Holocaust on the Kindertransport
Jankowski, Karski: how one man tried to stop the Holocaust
Perez, Margret & H.A. Rey’s Curious George Plants a tree (J)
Robbins, Lily Renee, Escape Artist: from Holocaust survivor to comic book pioneer (J)
Tokayer, The Fugu Plan: the untold story of the Japanese and the Jews during World War II
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