Customer Reviews

The Thing About Georgie

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Fourth-grader Georgie has a good life. He has loving, talented parents--both professional musicians. He has a best friend, Andy, with whom he runs a profitable dog-walking business. He has a crush on the prettiest girl in his grade. And, oh yeah, he's also a dwarf.

Georgie has become used to the special accommodations made for him in school and at home. The janitor has placed his coat hook lower than those for the other students. His parents have taped Popsicle sticks to light switches so Georgie can reach them without trouble. And Georgie has become used to the staring and comments ever-present in his life.

All of a sudden, however, everything changes in Georgie's life. His best friend wants to include another boy, Russ, in the dog-walking business. Georgie just can't accept that Andy may make other friends and his jealousy messes up their friendship. Jeanie the Meanie, the kid everyone has known and despised since kindergarten for her erratic and sometimes cruel behavior, has made Georgie her own special project. And, Georgie's parents make a big announcement: Georgie is going to be a big brother! And the new baby...is not a dwarf:

"One day this kid, the one who wasn't even born yet, was going to be bigger than he was. It wouldn't take very long either; there were five-year-olds the same height as Georgie. Somehow it had never bothered him too much before. Georgie was short, and all those other kids weren't. But the thought of some kid living in his own home, growing taller every single day made him seriously queasy." (p. 43)

Georgie's predicament, on the surface of things, seems unique. But what I really love about "The Thing About Georgie" is that Georgie's story is really one of growing up, of figuring out who you are, and of opening your heart to others. Georgie, in the end, isn't much different from his peers. True, he's a dwarf and people sometimes stare at him. True, his parents will be having another child, one who is more "perfect" than he may be. But other people have problems too. His friend Andy, for example, has to share a room with his immigrant grandmother. And, Jeanie has to work against years of being the bad kid in her class, as well as having to deal with a difficult family life and attention issues. In the end, Georgie realizes that, yes, he has his problems and, yes, he's a unique individual, but, yes, he's not so very different in his individuality than anyone else.

Lisa Graff's debut novel, "The Thing About Georgie," is a novel Middle Grade readers will enjoy greatly. It's also a book perfect for the 3rd-6th grade classroom read aloud. Graff has structured the novel in an ingenious way. Each chapter is introduced by a "handwritten" account of what it's like to live as a dwarf ("Stretch your right arm high up to the sky. Now reach across the top of your head and touch your your left ear....Did you know you could do that? Well, Georgie can't"), but the struggles that follow are universal. "The Thing About Georgie" is the type of book that any pre-Middle Schooler will appreciate: each child has individual issues, but together they can deal with anything.

"The Truth About Georgie" is highly recommended for readers ages eight and up.

Georgie is a dwarf. That's the thing about him. But that's not what ultimately defines him. He's a boy who's having trouble with his best friend. He's a kid who is stuck with a difficult partner for a school report. He's a son who loves his parents, but worries what a new baby will do to his family. Georgie does face particular challenges, but he also sees the challenges that everyone faces all around him.

In The Thing About Georgie, the chapters are often introduced by a description of what it's like to be a dwarf. This narrator asks us to reach our arms over our heads, measure ourselves against a wall, and hold our tongue with our fingers. These exercises engage the reader in understanding Georgie much better than a mere description would have done. In the end, these opening segments relate to the story in an even more integral way.

In many children's books these days you'll find that the adults are useless, selfish, stupid, or cruel. Not so in this book. The adults are caring, kind, and supportive. They do occasionally disappoint, but not with intention or thoughtlessness. It's refreshing to read a book that doesn't pit the kid against the parents.

The Thing About Georgie is a book about a dwarf, but it's more about growing up like any kid in elementary school with regular kid problems. Overall, it was fun and interesting getting to know Georgie. I might also mention that my daughter's teacher used the book as a read-aloud in fifth grade, and with the interesting format and topics, it was VERY well-received.

This is a wonderful book. Lisa Graff is able to evoke feelings we all had in childhood - doubts, fears, jealousies - without once coming across as insincere or condescending to those feelings. At the same time, the reader's eyes are opened to the challenges Georgie faces in everyday life as a dwarf. The "asides" to the reader are an unusual feature - at first I found them a bit distracting, but quickly came to recognize them as a major part of the story and I enjoyed the surprise twist at the end.

I was surprised by the end of the book at how much I identified with and cared about Georgie. I imagine this would be a wonderful book to teach in elementary school, as its lessons about differences and challenges are strong without ever coming across as preachy. It's a fun book that brings you right into Georgie's world and leaves you looking at both childhood and physical challenges with a fresh set of eyes.

The Thing about Georgie is a great book, and Jeanie the Meanie really lights up. Georgie finds out that "Baby Godzilla" isn't going to be so bad after all. Written by an 8 1/2 year old.

The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff is about a boy (Georgie) who is a dwarf and his mom is having a baby. Georgie refers to the baby as "Baby Godzilla." To make things worse, Georgie and his friend (Andy) get into a fight. Georgie thinks that nothing can get worse but some how or rather it does. How will Georgie's life get better?

Also in the beginning of some chapters Lisa Graff asks you favors so you can understand about what dwarves can and can't do.

Do you want to hear more? Well, read the book to find out more.

I really think Lisa Graff has a talent. I recommend The Thing About Georgie.

Review by G.C.

I'm reading this to my fourth grade class and the kids are riveted. They have even asked to "hear more Georgie" rather than have extra time outside. It has sparked some very thoughtful discussion. I enthusiastically recommend it!!

I really like The Thing About Georgie.

Georgie is a Little Person. He has one best friend and, now, that best friend seems to be drifting to spend more time with a tall-sized popular-type kid who Georgie is certain will join his long line of personal mockers. To make matters worse, Georgie's parents have a new diversion that challenges their love for him, as well, one that might remind them of their disappointment that Georgie cannot fulfill their musical aspirations they had in their child.

Just when it seems that things couldn't get any worse, he has to play a pint-sized rendition of the country's tallest president, Abraham Lincoln, in the school play!

Will Georgie lose everything before losing his pride?

The awesome chapter beginnings challenge the young reader to put themselves in Georgie's shoes. The chapters begin with a mystery narrator asking the reader to measure distances or try to do body contortions or write with bent fingers - all tasks that give greater insight to the difficulties faced by Little People. It really gives one pause. It is an important topic, and Graff has definitely approached the subject in a creative way.

(P.S. Am I mistaken that "dwarf" - the term used in this book is politically incorrect? On TLC, the Roloffs says it's "Little People".)

Lisa Graff has an ear for the middegrade voice. Never cloying, never cute she handles the subject with both humor and pathos. Readers are going to love GEORGIE. I know I did!

Georgie is an extremely likeable character. He's just a normal kid with the normal problems and feelings that any child can relate to. But through an anonymous narrator we learn what life is like for Georgie on a physical level. It's a great tactic because it really adds good visuals for the child reader without taking away from the story. Lisa Graff's style is similar to Louis Sachar's in "There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom." How can it get better than that?

Georgie is a dwarf. His life, overall, is a happy one. But then he learns that his parents are going to have another child. Georgie is overwhelmed with feeling of jealousy for his new sibling who he anticipates will be a normal child, able to do many things Georgie cannot do, including play music like his parents. Georgie's jealousy also jeopardizes his friendship with his best friend and he suffers through a developing relationship with the cruelest girl in school, Jeanie the Meanie.

Powerful young adult story.