Writer and illustrator H.A. (Hans) Rey grew up near the famous Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany, a great location for someone with a love of animals and drawing. He married writer Margret Waldstein in 1935 when he was living in Brazil selling bathtubs, which sounds like a pretty good story in itself.
The Reys moved to Paris, where H.A.'s first children's book, Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys, was published in 1939. In that story, one of the monkeys — "Jimmy, the brave monkey" — is standing next to his brother, Fifi. It is Fifi who would later become known as Curious George.
The manuscript for Curious George was one of five that the Reys brought with them when they fled Paris in 1940 — just hours ahead of Hitler's invading army — on bicycles they built from spare parts. They made it safely out of France to the United States (via ships, not on the bikes) and settled in Greenwich Village.
Curious George was published in the United States in 1941. (Published that same year in England, George's name was changed to Zozo so as not to disrespectfully associate King George VI with a monkey!) Over the following 25 years, Margret and H.A. wrote six more Curious George stories.
The Curious George books were a true collaboration. Hans was generally in charge of ideas and illustrations, while Margret handled plot and writing. Many aspects of the Reys' own interests and adventures are reflected in the images and plots of the Curious George stories. For example: Hans smoked a pipe, the couple lived among palm trees in Brazil, and they took some very important trips by both bicycle and ocean liner. In addition, Hans and Margret were very fond of animals, and their first stop whenever they visited a new city was the zoo.
Since its initial publication, Curious George has enjoyed an enduring popularity. The mischievous little monkey has been instantly familiar for generations. Over 30 million copies of Curious George books. have been sold worldwide, with versions published in 16 languages, including Yiddish, Afrikaans, and Braille. And in 2005, George starred in his first full-length feature film!
In 1989, Margret established The Curious George Foundation to fund programs for children that share Curious George's irresistible qualities: curiosity in learning, exploring, ingenuity, opportunity, and determination.
Still curious about George? You can learn more about the Reys and their famous little monkey at Houghton Mifflin's Curious George site.
Photo of Reys: H. A. and Margret Rey, de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, The University of Southern Mississippi