By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Hard to image that that monkey named George who always seemed to be getting into trouble is marking 75, but he is.
Created by Margaret and Hans Augusto Rey, the two released their first book, Curious George, in 1941, shortly after having fled Nazi-occupied France via bicycles. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was the publisher that signed the couple up for a four-book series. They would end up producing seven books between 1941 -1966.
This month, Schuler Books, 2660 28th St. SE, celebrates the 75th anniversary of Curious George with a costume character story time Sat., Aug. 27, at 11 a.m. which will include several of the popular stories along with a visit from George himself. The event is free.
The story of the Reys
Originally from Hamburg, Germany, the Reys married while living in Brazil. They went to Paris for a vacation and ended up staying almost four years. Hans’s animal drawings came to the attention of a French publisher, who commissioned him to write a children’s book. The result, Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys, which included a little monkey named Curious George. George was so popular that the couple wrote a book just about him and then World War II happened. Since the Reys were Jewish, the couple decided to leave Paris before the Nazis seized the city. Hans assembled two bicycles, and they fled just a few hours before the city fell. Among their possessions was the illustrated manuscript of Curious George.
The Reys’ odyssey brought them to Bayonne, France where they were issued life-saving visas and were able to cross the Spanish border. They sold their bikes and bought train tickets to Lisbon and then headed back to Brazil. From Brazil, they headed to New York. They brought their manuscript with them and once published, it was an instant success. In fact, in 1960, Curious George Takes a Job was named to the Lewis Carroll Award. The books have never been out of print since first released in 1941.
The couple moved to Cambridge, Mass. and lived there until Hans’s death in 1977. A store, the World’s Only Curious George Store, is located on Harvard Square.
The American publishing company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has continued to produce books written by various authors and illustrators. There have been several TV series (currently PBS airs Curious George as part of its PBS Preschool Kids block), films — the first one featuring the voice of Will Farrell as the Man with the Yellow Hat — video games, board games, as well as stuff animals and other items. In fact, in 2003, former First Lady Barbara Bush chose the White House’s Christmas theme to be “Curious George.”
Filmmaker wants to tell the story of the Reys
Filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki is currently working to bring the story of the Reys to life through the mixed-media documentary called Monkey Business. Yamazaki was granted access to the Reys’ achieves by the estate and is currently raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign to help cover the cost for the animation and music for the film.
Through her Kickstarter campaign, Yamazaki has stated that through her immense research, she knows how the team wants to tell the story and now just need to funding to bring the film to life.
According to Animation Magazine, “Monkey Business blends uniquely crafted animation inspired by the Reys’ style as well as archival photographs to tell the story of the couple’s lives, the birth of George and how the little monkey almost didn’t come to fruition.”
For the 
With the salad gone, I was ready for my stir-fry and I was not disappointed when the hot skillet was set down in front of me. It was still sizzling, packed with food, and ready to be devoured. Quick word of advice, when something is sizzling, its contents are still very hot. My brain decided not to pass along this information onto my watering mouth. Thank goodness for the glass of water that was seemingly always filled to the brim.
Going on the waitress’s recommendation, I selected one of the Hibachi Lunch Specials, Beef Hibachi, $7.95. It came with a salad, white rice and stirred fried beef and vegetables with a homemade sauce. I selected the onion salad dressing and I could taste why someone would want to purchase a bottle for home. The dressing was sweet and favorable with no overbearing onion flavor.
National Night Out celebrates local heroes and the community
The day starts out early — 7 am — at the Consumers’ Energy building (4000 Clay Ave. SW in Wyoming), where mayors and dignitaries from Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Wyoming, Grandville and other local municipalities will gather to recite the NNO credo. Here’s a great opportunity to meet your local leaders!
We were seated at a booth and Mike immediately spotted the $6.99 lunch special that included a soda, any sandwich and soup or salad. Our server informed us the salad was a traditional side salad but for a dollar more you could select any of the other salads such as tabouli, fattoush, or Greek. I was sold and went for the fattoush salad paired with the falafel, hommous, tabouli wrap cause a girl has got to have her falafel! For those who do not know, a falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. I prefer my falafel with a little hommous, so this wrap was screaming my name.
When we walked into Le Kabob, I was caught off guard by the size of the restaurant. The last two places we had been to were small and we were the only people there for lunch. Le Kabob was not only much bigger, but it was packed with people there for lunch. Apparently we weren’t the only ones Going Local. We had a slight wait before we were seated and the $6.99 lunch special immediately caught my eye. The picture of the shawarma looked small, so I decided I needed to order two, a chicken and a lamb, on top of my lamb chili. I did not need to order a second one. I repeat, I did NOT need to order a second one.
Both shawarmas were exceptional. The meat was tender and the pita was baked with the right amount of crisp. The lamb shawarma comes rolled with onions, tomatoes, pickles, parsley and tahini sauce. It went down smoothly as the chicken starred me right in the face. The chicken shawarma is rolled with pickles, lettuce, and garlic sauce – I think I hit my yearly garlic intake during the meal. The second shawarma was just as good, but my stomach said no more! Fortunately, I was able to take half the sandwich home in a box and have it for another Going Local lunch the next day.
Once seated, we were able to dive into the menu. One thing that immediately jumped out was how affordable the lunch prices were. All of the dishes were under $7.50 and included a choice of soup (egg drop or hot & sour), choice of crab cheese or an egg roll, and a choice of fried or white rice (not included with a noodle meal). Top it off with hot tea and a fortune cookie and no one leaves with an empty stomach.
About that main course, it was a larger portion that I was expecting for the price and it wasn’t overly salted. In fact, the taste was quite soothing. Some might describe it as “bland”, but I loved it. The taste wasn’t overpowering and it was effortless moving from a bite of the lo mein to the egg roll. The tastes complimented one another.
Inside, the restaurant was cleaned and inviting with the owner showing us to a table. I lingered a little as China City has a bakery case that included little heart-shaped strawberry and lemon cakes along with rather large almond cookies for 35 cents. “Life is short, eat dessert first” ran through my head as I pulled myself away from the bakery case. Besides, I have to pass it on the way out anyways.
The lunch meal came out fairly quickly. It was a nice portion size with at least a cup and half of the entry and fried rice. I don’t normally order fried rice, but a friend had recommended trying China City’s, so I opted for it and was not disappointed.
Rather than look at which rule was broken and then doling out traditionally prescribed punishment, at-risk students may be sent to a circle for resolution. During a discussion led by the circle facilitator, the students come up with solutions to the issues raised. Circles help students look at what happened, determine the harm done, talk about how the harm can be repaired, and discuss how future harm can be prevented.
The Kentwood Police Department is looking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in a robbery that occurred in the Woodland Mall parking lot on May 12, 2016.
Before the Justice Center was built, the Police Department and the District Court were housed in the Kentwood City Center. It was a cramped working environment that limited the productivity of both staffs.
In the end, the Kentwood Justice Center was completed on time and on budget. 15 years later the building was paid off on time and is one of the reasons for the city’s AA+ bond rating – a rating very unusual for a city the size of Kentwood.
Update: Due to an unforeseen conflict, the writing workshop will be postponed to a later date! 
By: Mike DeWitt
