The Legend of the Famously Curious Monkey

Posted February 12, 2016 by Katie Caskey

In honor of this year’s Chinese zodiac animal, I would like to tell you all a story about what is, perhaps, the world’s most famous literary monkey…Curious George. I preface this post with the acknowledgement of the story’s source, Anita Silvey. Anita is a professor of Children’s Literature here at Simmons. She has worked for many years in the publishing industry, served as the editor of The Horn Book review journal, and has published a book (and a blog) called Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac, in which she highlights a different children’s book for each day of the calendar.

Because of her many years in the industry, she is full of remarkable behind-the-scenes stories of some of our favorite books’ publishing histories. When I took her class on Publishing I got the chance to spend an entire semester listening to her wonderful tales. Here is one of my favorites…

Hans Rey, creator of our favorite mischievous monkey, and his wife Margret were living in Paris in 1941 during World War II. Just three days before Hitler’s army invaded, the Jewish couple were trying to flee the country. They had purchased railroad tickets, but when the trains stopped running, they were stuck. So Hans scrounged up a collection of used bicycle parts and fashioned something sort of like a bike that they could ride. They left Paris on June 12, 1941, with just some of Hans’ book manuscripts and their winter coats.

They were able to stay ahead of the advancing troops for about a week, pedaling the entire day and sleeping in open fields at night. Then, one day, they were stopped by a border guard. The man asked what they did, and Hans replied, “I create children’s books.” The guard asked to see an example and seemed to like what Hans showed him. “My children would like this…you can continue,” he said. The couple continued on, and eventually made their way to the coast and back to America. The book the guard got a glimpse of was an early manuscript and sketch of Curious George. Who knew a cheeky monkey could save a couple’s lives?

Anita told this story the first day of our Publishing class, and she followed it with this quote…

“Books are saved or lost by seconds and inches.” 

Imagine if the Reys would have left the manuscripts behind in order to pack some food or an extra blanket? What would they have had to show the guard? Would they have been allowed to continue? What would our literary world look like without the antics of a monkey and his friend in a yellow hat? As a student of literature, I see it as a great privilege to engage with stories that have been found, been saved, been nurtured into the beautiful works they are today. But I find it interesting to think about all the “what if’s” behind some of our most beloved books.

***If you liked this story, check out Anita’s blog here: http://childrensbookalmanac.com/ ***