The Journey That Saved Curious George Young Readers Edition: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey

By Louise Borden

Book Overview

In 1940, Hans and Margret Rey fled their Paris home as the German army advanced. They began their harrowing journey on bicycles, pedaling to Southern France with children's book manuscripts, including what would become the international sensation Curious George, among their few possessions.

Louise Borden combed primary resources, including Hans Rey's pocket diaries, to tell this dramatic true story. Her collection of archival materials introduce readers to the world of Hans and Margret Rey while Allan Drummond's dramatic and colorful artwork illustrates their wartime trek to a new home.

Now elementary school readers can follow the Rey's amazing journey in this Young Reader's Edtion. Part travel journal, part gripping biography this volume includes full-color illustrations, original photos, ticket stubs, entries from Hans Rey's diaries, activities, an new afterword, and an interview with the author. The perfect selection for book reports, biography units, and Curious George fans of all ages.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0544800338
• ISBN13: 9780544800335
• Release Date: September 2016
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.7" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 8 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 6

Customer Reviews

Their journey on bicycles with their children's book manuscripts among their few possessions is reco

Curious George is beloved and known by adults and kids around the world - but few have heard of the history of his creators, Hans and Margret Rey, who had to flee their Paris home as the Germans invaded. Their journey on bicycles with their children's book manuscripts among their few possessions is recounted here with pictures, flare and drama. Borden uses primary resources, including Rey's own pocket diaries, to tell their tale in The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape Of Margret And H.A. Rey, with Allan Drummond's drawings and vintage black and white photos throughout enhancing the biography and action.

A Book for All Ages

Voila! It was there! A book that I had been waiting to read. On my desk I found The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H. A. Rey by Louise Borden, illustrated by Allan Drummond. Oooh, it was a nice looking book! Everyone remembers Curious George, the mischievous monkey of picture book fame. If we did not read the books as children, we read them to our children. As a parent, I grew rather tired of them. Still, I wanted to read this book about an episode in the authors' lives. Margret and H. A. Rey were living in Paris at the start of World War II, and being Jewish, were very concerned for their safety. Both had been born in Hamburg and had become a citizen of Brazil, but they had been in France for four years working on children's books. Two manuscripts were ready for publication, one about a penguin names Whiteblack and another about a monkey named Fifi, but the European publishers no longer had paper. The couple's preparations to flee Paris became more serious when the Germans crossed through Belgium and the Netherlands. Getting all the paperwork completed was maddening. Louise Borden heard the story of the Reys' escape years ago and wanted to know more. She visited de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi to find the Reys' papers, wrote to people who had known the Reys, and traveled to Paris and the towns through which the couple escaped. She enlisted Allan Drummond to illustrate the story. The result is a fine book for youth and adults. I enjoyed looking at Drummond's rich illustrations, showing the Reys on their bicycles in Paris, with people in their scarves and berets reading newspapers, crowded onto buses, carrying babies, all fleeing as Nazi planes dot the sky. Photos of the Reys, their passports, their day calendars, and other artifacts and illustrations of Curious George and Whiteblack also decorate the pages. The penguin is really cute. I should read Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World soon.

Not Just For Children!

This is a beautifully written, historically accurate book. If you want to spark your child's curiousity about history along with his curiousity about George, this book will do it. Adult readers will learn too. Our grandchildren love the book and ask us to read it over and over. We need more historically based books for children.