Margret Rey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margret Rey
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Margret Rey with her husband, H. A. Rey
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| Born | Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein May 16, 1906 Hamburg, German Empire |
| Died | December 21, 1996 (aged 90) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, illustrator |
| Education | Bauhaus |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Years active | 1939–1966 |
| Notable works | Curious George |
| Spouse | |
Margret Rey was a talented writer and illustrator. Born in Germany, she later became an American citizen. She is best known for creating the beloved Curious George picture books. She worked on these popular children's stories with her husband, H. A. Rey. They created the series together from 1939 to 1966.
Contents
Early Life and Art Studies
Margret Rey was born Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein on May 16, 1906. Her hometown was Hamburg, which was part of the German Empire at the time. Her father, Felix Waldstein, was a member of the German parliament.
Margret loved art and studied it at several famous schools. She attended Bauhaus in Dessau, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, and the University of Munich. This was between 1926 and 1928. After her studies, she worked in advertising.
Meeting H. A. Rey and Moving to Paris
In 1935, Margret left Germany. She wanted to escape the difficult political situation there. She traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There, she met Hans Reyersbach, a salesman from Hamburg. He was a long-time family friend.
Margret and Hans married in 1935. A year later, in 1936, they moved to Paris, France.
The Birth of Curious George
While living in Paris, Hans's drawings of animals caught the eye of a French publisher. The publisher asked him to create a children's book. This led to their first book, Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys.
One character in that book, a playful monkey named Curious George, became very popular. Margret and Hans decided to write a whole book just about him.
Escape from World War II
Their work was interrupted when World War II began. As Jewish people, the Reys knew they had to leave Paris quickly. They fled the city just hours before it was taken over.
Hans built two bicycles for their escape. Among the few things they carried was the illustrated story of Curious George. Their journey took them across the border into Spain. From there, they took a train to Lisbon, Portugal.
They then sailed back to Brazil, where they had first met. But this time, they continued their journey to New York City in the United States.
Curious George Becomes a Hit
The Curious George books were published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941. At first, Hans and Margret wanted to use watercolors for the illustrations. However, due to the printing technology of the time, they changed them. The books ended up with the cartoon-like drawings we know today. A special edition with the original watercolors was released later in 1998.
Curious George was an immediate success. The Reys were asked to write more adventures about the mischievous monkey. They created seven stories in total. Hans usually did the illustrations, and Margret focused on the stories. However, they always worked together on every part of the books.
Initially, Margret's name was not on the book covers. This was because many women were already writing children's books. Later editions corrected this, and Margret now gets full credit for her important role.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1963, Margret and her husband moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. After Hans passed away in 1977, Margret continued to write. In 1979, she became a professor at Brandeis University.
From 1980, she worked with Alan Shalleck. Together, they created short films about Curious George. They also wrote more than two dozen new books.
In 1989, Margret Rey started the Curious George Foundation. This foundation helps creative children and works to prevent cruelty to animals. She also made large donations to the Boston Public Library and a medical center in 1996. Margret was also a strong supporter of the Longy School of Music.
Margret Rey passed away from a heart attack on December 21, 1996, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Collected Works
The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, holds many of Margret Rey's papers. This collection includes over 300 boxes of her work.
Dr. Lena Y. de Grummond, a professor, first contacted the Reys in 1966. She was building a new children's literature collection at The University of Southern Mississippi. H. A. and Margret donated some sketches then. When Margret Rey passed away in 1996, her will stated that all of the Reys' literary work should go to the de Grummond Collection.
