Friday, June 26, 2020

Beginning ~ with curiousity

"For many years, I was intrigued by the story of Margret and H. A. Rey's flight from Paris on bicycles in June 1940.  Others in the children's book field had mentioned this escape from the Nazi invasion, but no one seemed to know the details of those harrowing days.  The story felt incomplete.  I wanted to know more.  I wanted real images.  I was curious, just like the Reys' famous little monkey, George."
The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H. A. Rey ~ by Louise Borden, illustrated by Allan Drummond, 2005, children's biography
Curious George is known and loved all over the world.  But few people know the exciting hisstory of his creators.  In 1940, Hans and Margret Rey had to flee their Paris home as the German army advanced on the capital city.  They began their harrowing journey on bicycles with their children's book manuscripts among their few possessions.

Louise Borden combed primary resources, including Hans Rey's pocket diaries, to tell this dramatic true story.  Archival materials introduce readers to the world of Hans and Margret Rey while Allan Drummond dramatically illustrates their wartime trek to a new home.
I don't remember where I first heard about this book, but I put it on hold at my library and got it yesterday.  I reported last fall that my library delivers books to home-bound patrons, using these colorful book bags.  Now they're once again delivering as lock-down restrictions are easing.


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Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts
Book Beginnings on Fridays.
Click this link for book beginnings
shared by other readers.
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3 comments:

Kathy Martin said...

Sounds like an intriguing story. I'm glad their journey allowed us to know Curious George. This week I'm spotlighting Aloha Night by Nalini Singh. Happy reading!

Sassy Brit @ Alternative-Read.com said...

This IS intriguing. I also love that your local library delivers to home bound patrons. That's really good of them!

Today I'm featuring You Can’t Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie.

Gilion at Rose City Reader said...

That sounds like a great book! Everyone loves Curious George, so wouldn't we all like to know his back story?