Curious George is the product of the very imaginations of Hans Augusto Rey and his wife Margret. The Reys were born in Hamburg, Germany. Hans Augusto Rey (1898-1977) met his wife-to-be, Margret (1906-1996), at a party in her father's home in Germany. She was sliding down the stair banister. Hans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. He studied philology and natural science at the University of Hamburg After serving in the army during World War I. After they married, they moved to Montmartre for four years. In their twenties and thirties they lived in Paris and in Rio de Janeiro, where Hans sold bathtubs in villages along the Amazon River.The manuscript for the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and Curious George was published in 1941. Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the Reys' home and community. Throughout their lives the Reys created many lively books together, including SPOTTY, PRETZEL, and lift-the-flap books such as HOW DO YOU GET THERE? Curious George has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian.