Salute to Curious George

Curious George Television Collaborator Found Dead
Just days before the release of the motion picture Curious George, Alan Shalleck, who created Disney television cartoons based on the children’s books, has been found dead. It’s a real shame that the circumstances around his death are so odd and could indicate a homicide. Instead of focusing on that, however, I’d like to salute the brilliance of Curious George and its creative team.

The Man in the Yellow Hat and Me
Curious George was among my favorite children’s books. That George could get into some predicaments. Little did I realize that these stories were written by two very fascinating people, H. A. and Margret Rey.

An Adventure All Their Own
The Reys combined their love for animals, writing, and drawing and began authoring and illustrating children’s books shortly after they married. The couple, however, were German Jews living in Paris in the 1940s. Just hours before the Nazis invaded Paris, the Reys escaped on bicycles H. A. built from spare parts. Among their sparse possessions they fled with was a manuscript of Curious George. And how fortunate we are that their work developed into seven original stories, future sequels, Alan Shalleck’s television cartoons, and now the motion picture.

The Scholars Come to Play Ball
Until today it has never crossed my mind to apply literary theory to the Curious George series. But while researching, I realized that there exists literary criticism on Curious George. Who knew? Feminists take issue with the lack of women in the story (as well as with Margaret Rey not being fully credited as a collaborator). And from a colonial reading, the Man in the Yellow Hat represents the evil West terrorizing and kidnapping other peoples (George). I guess it goes to show you can always read between the lines. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t mind reading the series again just for the simple reason we enjoyed it as kids: it was fun.