Filed under: Pets News
Jim Cole, AP
We
love monkeys and one of our all-time favorite monkeys is Curious George. And now, with an
exhibit focusing on Curious George's wartime escape recently opened in New Hampshire, we can learn more about the mischievous monkey and his surprising start,
according to WDTN.com.
You probably know that, in the book, "the Man With the Yellow Hat" brought Curious George home from Africa, but George's real-life beginning was a much more dramatic tale. He was created by the husband and wife team of H.A. and Margret Rey, who took with them the original manuscript when they escaped Paris in June 1940 -- right before the Nazis invaded.
The German Jewish pair had arrived in Paris for their honeymoon in 1936 and far exceeded their intended two-week stay. Their sketches and illustrations of George saved them twice during their time in France; once, village police suspected them of being spies due to their German accents, but when the police saw the sketches of a monkey named "Fifi" (soon to be renamed "George"), they realized the Reys were writers and illustrators and relaxed. Then,
after the Reys had escaped Paris on bicycles they'd built out of spare parts, they were questioned before hopping a train to Spain. When the officer saw the drawings, he smiled and moved on, reports WDTN.com.
The Reys traveled through Spain and Portugal by train, eventually taking a ship to the United States, where they published "Curious George" (which sold more than 27 million copies) and, ultimately, became U.S. citizens. The Margret and H.A. Rey exhibit, housed at the
Rey Center Art Gallery in Waterville Valley, N.H., showcases the couple's journey and gives children and adults alike the chance to participate in art, science and nature programs.
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