the journey that saved curious george by louise borden

“With a deepening refugee crisis and inflamed anti-immigrant rhetoric across the globe, the Reys’ story has become unexpectedly more relevant in the two years I have been making the documentary,” she wrote last year. and partially in Japan, said she was inspired by the Reys’ story of immigrant success. Yamazaki, who grew up partially in the U.S. Rey died in 1977, and Margaret Rey died in 1996. (He’s also the star of an animated PBS program for kids that premiered in 2006.) Since then over 75 million “Curious George” books have been sold and the series has been translated into 19 languages.

Fifi became George, and in 1941, Houghton Mifflin published the first “Curious George” book. They eventually made their way to Lisbon, then back to Brazil, then to New York. As “Monkey Business” director Ema Ryan Yamazaki documents, whenever they were stopped at checkpoints during their escape, the couple brandished the manuscripts and illustrations to prove that they were not dangerous. (Sept.Before their escape, Margret rounded up all of their unpublished children’s book manuscripts, including one titled “Fifi: The Adventures of a Monkey.” The couple biked out of the city 48 hours before the Germans occupied Paris, and slept in barns and restaurants on their journey out of France.Īs if in return for being saved, the curious little monkey character helped saved the Reys. A stirring, uplifting and elegantly packaged saga. A wordless, frenetic spread dramatizes their part in 'the largest motorized evacuation in history.' At last they reached America, where Fifi, too, found a home, at Houghton Mifflin-and a new name. Since trains had stopped running, they tried to buy bicycles, but shops were sold out, so Hans bought spare parts and built two bikes. The details of the Reys' escape from Paris underscore the sense of urgency.

The couple then moved to Paris, where they began writing and illustrating children's books, including one starring a 'very curious Borden sketches the childhoods of Hans and Margret, both raised in Jewish families in Hamburg, who in 1935 teamed up professionally, and then married, in Rio de Janeiro (where, curiously and quite satisfyingly, they had two mischievous pet marmosets). His illustrations display a whimsy and energy appealingly reminiscent of the Reys' art, while still uniquely his own the artist also effectively conveys the somber side of this extraordinary story. Drummond's watercolors add a spirited splash of color to the handsomely designed paper-over-board volume. Reproductions of Hans Rey's diary entries, letters from publishers and photos-many taken by Margret-lend the book authenticity and immediacy. The legendary tale about the Reys' 1940 flight from Paris on bicycles just before the Nazis stormed the City of Light comes into clear focus here, thanks to Borden's diligent research and lucid writing.

The journey that saved curious george by louise borden