Children's Author Highlight: Hans and Margret Rey

see photo credit below

Among the most popular characters in children's literature is Curious George - a good little monkey, but always very curious.  PBS Kids television version of Curious George has helped the popularity of this little monkey among thousands of children, including my own.  However, a popular kids TV series, a movie, and a gazillion George adventure stories seems to have cast a shadow on the real deal Curious George.  Did you know that there are only 7 original Curious George books written by the Reys?  The shelf at our public library is full of Curious George books, but most of them are not from the original collection.  The ones that say "H.A. Rey's Curious George" have borrowed the character George, but are not part of the original 7, and have been authored by other individuals.  While these short tales are cute adventures, they fall short of the originals, in my opinion.

The Reys worked together to develop the Curious George stories with Hans primarily doing the artwork and Margret writing the stories.  I highly recommend clicking here to read about H.A. Rey, and his wife Margret (who co-authored many of Rey's works), how they came to the United States as Jewish refugees during WWII, details about Curious George, and where the Rey's got their ideas for the George books.

This week I recommend the original 7 Curious George books:

• Curious George (1941)
• Curious George Takes a Job (1947)
• Curious George Rides a Bike (1952)
• Curious George Gets a Medal (1957)
• Curious George Flies a Kite (1958)
• Curious George Learns the Alphabet (1963)
• Curious George Goes to the Hospital (1966)

I also recommend Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys (1939), the Rey's first children's book which debuts the character George, and Katy No-Pocket (1973), a cute story about a kangaroo and  illustrated by H.A. Rey.

Let us know if there are other H.A. Rey stories that you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Our recommendation of the books mentioned in this post is not a complete endorsement of the author, illustrator, or their other works.  Please use discernment in selecting books by any given author.

This is part 2 in the Children's Author Highlight Series.  Click here for more children's author recommendations.

Photo found here with the following credit: Margret and H. A. Rey, United States, late 1940s. H. A. & Margret Rey Papers, de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, McCain Library and Archives, The University of Southern Mississippi.