The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden

The Journey That Saved Curious George is a children's biography about the little-known wartime escape of Margret and H.A. Rey from France, to Brazil and then America.

Their story begins in Germany where both were born. Hans Augusto Reyersbach was born in 1906 and grew up in Hamburg which is a port city on the North Sea. This led Hans to develop a love for the sea and boats.

Hans also loved animals, which he enjoyed seeing on his many visits to the Hagenbeck Zoo. He also loved drawing and painting and was proficient in many languages.

Margarete Wilson was born in 1914 and she also grew up in Hamburg. She had two brothers and two sisters and her family was also Jewish. Margarete loved books and wanted to become an artist. She would eventually study

During World War I, Hans fought for Germany as a soldier in Kaiser Wilhelm's army. After the war, he attended university and then moved to Brazil. Hans lived in Rio de Janeiro, be he also travelled up and down the Amazon River, selling bath tubs and kitchen sinks in small towns. He enjoyed watching and  drawing the monkeys climbing in the trees.

In 1933, nine years after Hans moved to Brazil, Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany. For Jewish citizen, life became increasingly difficult. Margarete Waldstein decided to leave Hamburg and work as a photographer in London, England. In 1935, she decided to move to Rio de Janiero. Hans Reyersbach was an old family friend from her life in Hamburg. The two artists began collaborating and eventually they married.

Both Margarete and Hans decided to shorten their names: she to Margret and he to H.A. Rey. Several months later, now Brazilian citizens, Margret and Hans travelled to Europe on their honeymoon. They ended up staying at the Terrass Hotel in Montmartre, a suburb of Paris for the next four years!

In the neighbourhood of Montmartre, the Reys spent their time sketching and photographing life in the old village, meeting with friends and writing and illustrating their childrens' books. In 1939, the Reys were working on a children's book about a monkey named Fifi when war broke out in Europe with the German invasion of Poland. At first Parisians panicked and many left the city for the south of France, including the Reys. They stayed for four months at Chateau Feuga. It was at this time they began working on another book about a penguin named Whiteblack.

With the involvement of France in the war, the Reys with their German accent aroused the suspicion of the local French who summoned the police. However once they saw the Reys' work they were satisfied as to why they were living in the village.

The Reys returned to Paris in January of 1940 where they continued to work on their new book. Margret's brother Hans visited them and Hans Rey made the final touches on his book Fifi. They then decided to travel to the Normandy coast, to a town named Avranches. However, the war became more real as Germany invaded Holland and Belgium and then the Nazi army massed on the northern French border. With war now coming to France, the Reys needed to make a decision. As German-born Jews, they were in great danger. They had returned to Paris but now needed to leave the country quickly. Their biggest adventure was yet to begin.

Discussion

The Journey That Save Curious George is a fascinating account of the daring escape of Margret and H.A. Rey from wartime Paris, at the beginning of World War II. Borden undertook extensive research to satisfy her longtime interest in the Rey's wartime journey. This research involved reading through the Reys' letters and notebooks, traveling to the towns and villages the Reys' visited or worked in, as well as reading newspaper accounts. Borden was able to piece together their remarkable journey from Paris, on the cusp of occupation to safety in Brazil and then America. 

Borden sets the stage by providing a brief description of Hans and Margret's lives growing up in Hamburg. The focus moves to their collaboration in Brazil and their early work while living in France. Like many living in the country at that time, war was far off and hope was high that things would not escalate. That was not to be the case and many French attempted to flee south, from the advancing Nazis. But the Reys were in particular danger as they were Jews. 

The story then focuses on their efforts to leave France by any means possible. It was a journey that was to start on bicycles! H.A.Rey was able to build two bicycles from spare parts for himself and Margret which they then used to flee Paris. They took with them some food, a few clothes and the drawings that would ultimately become part of the Curious George childrens books. Unlike many French Jews, they were fortuitous to hold Brazilian citizenship and Brazilian passports. This allowed them to obtain the required visas to leave France for Spain and Portugal, sailing to Brazil and safety.

Accompanying Borden's engaging storytelling is the artwork of Allan Drummond whose watercolour illustrations are reminiscent of the Reys' artwork in Curious George. Borden has also included many photographs of Hans and Margret, pages of Hans' journal, telegrams, correspondence and maps. There is also a Partial Bibliography of Books by Margret and H.A. Rey. 

The Journey That Saved Curious George offers fans of Curious George the interesting backstory about authors Hans and Margret Rey in the appealing format of a picture book with just the right amount of detail and lots of visuals to maintain interest.

Margret and H.A. Rey photograph credit: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-unexpected-profundity-of-curious-george

Book Details:

The Journey That Save Curious George by Louise Borden
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company         2005
72 pp.