We all know the story of Curious George: the Man with the Yellow Hat found George in Africa and brought him home, thus beginning the monkey's adventures. But did you know that George was originally called "Fifi", and there was a journey fraught with danger that the Reys undertook to save both the manuscript and their lives?
Hans Augusto Reyersbach and Margarete Waldstein were both born Jews in Germany. Hans moved to Brazil after World War One where he watched monkeys in the Amazon while wearing a broad hat (yellow hat, anyone?). There he met Margarete and they married, living in an apartment with two pet marmosets -- very mischevious monkeys. At this time the Reys changed their name to be something easier for the Brazilians to pronounce, and Margaret and H. A. Rey were born.
The Reys moved to Paris and began writing and illustrating books for children, and in 1939 began a new manuscript about a monkey named Fifi, who was very curious and always getting into trouble. World War Two began, and being Jews in Europe, the Reys fled to save their lives. They packed what they could onto their backs (including the Fifi manuscript) and started a journey on bikes south to Lisbon, Portugal, alternating biking and train rides. From there they made it safely to America, and Curious George was published in 1941.
Much is to be learned from the primary sources in this book, including photographs, diary exerpts and passports. My daughter particularly enjoyed following the Rey's journeys on the maps inside the covers of the books. For Curious George lovers of all ages.
Learn More:
- Lesson plans from the publisher to go along with the book and a list of all Curious George books
- Did you know that the H. A. Rey also published two books on constellation identification? He drew the constellations so they actually look like what they're supposed to resemble. You'll never have problems identifying the constellations again! The Stars: A New Way to See Them and Find the Constellations can both be found in my store (link on left hand side).
- "Curious George" is now an animated tv-show on PBS that teaches math and science skills. We LOVE it at our house!!
- World War II for elementary students from the eMints National Center (University of Missouri College of Education). Included is a link to: Children of WWII, where you can find out what it was like for children to live during the war
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