Heidi Hirschl sent me this article about the new exhibition at the Jewish Museum, “Curious George Saves the Day.” The story behind the Curious George series is fascinating–worth a book of its own. Margret and H.A. Rey fled Paris in 1940 on bicycles, making their way to Lisbon. They went initially to Rio de Janeiro, then New York, and finally settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Now that Curious George has become a franchise, he has been tamed to a great extent. The ether scene in one of the early books can no longer be found in versions of George’s adventures today.

Here’s the link to Edward Rothstein’s fascinatingly informative article about the exhibit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/arts/design/26curious.html?pagewanted=1&emc=eta1