November 17, 2005

[your tidbit of the day] ^{12:52 PM}

After meeting briefly in Germany, Hans and Margret Rey were reunited while working in Rio de Janeiro. They were married in 1935 and moved to Paris soon after. Unfortunately, the political climate in Europe was changing, and by the spring of 1940 Hitler was poised to take over Paris. Hans and Margret fled on homemade bicycles with little more than the clothes on their backs and a handful of manuscripts — one of which starred an inquisitive little monkey named Curious George — hours before German troops marched into the city. After a brief stay in Brazil, they found their way to New York City and eventually settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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