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!!
September 21, 2008

The thing about this story is that it pulls at your heart.

The thing about Georgie is that he is one of the most endearing characters you'll ever meet. He's got the normal problems of a boy growing up: jealousy when his best friend befriends another boy and wants to include the new best friend in the dog-walking business that Georgie masterminded; the worry that his parents will like the new baby they're expecting better than they like him; and being assigned to a project in school with the meanest and most non-participatory student in class--Meanie Jeannie. While Georgie explores the trials and tribulations of growing up, the narrator tugs at the reader's conscience regarding the other thing about Georgie. Georgie doesn't dwell on it because there's nothing he can do about it, and the narrator wants to heighten the reader's awareness, not their sympathy. You'll come away from this book empowered for having read it and fallen in love with Georgie, and his family and his friends, who lovingly raise their own consciousness against the enemy of discrimination.
June 08, 2008

Georgie stands tall--a great read for all

First time novelist Lisa Graff covers Andrew Clements territory with this story about a fourth grade dwarf. While George Washington Bishop's dwarfism has always been a reality, it has never been an issue. Until now. He is concerned that his soon to be baby sister or brother--dubbed Baby Godzilla in his mind--will one day outgrow him--literally. He is falling out with his best friend, Andy, and can't seem to find a way to end the fight. And the only person interested in being his friend is Jeanie the Meanie, and she has a strange way of showing affection (like signing him up against his will to play Abraham Lincoln--he tallest president ever--in the school play.)

Once I started this book I really couldn't put it down. Graff does a fantastic job of making Georgie a character the reader can sympathize with without pitying. The Thing about Georgie is a great recommendation for middle grade readers, boys and girls, for we are all little in a big world.
April 01, 2008

The Thing About Lisa Graff

I read this book aloud to my daughters, ages 8 and 6. We ALL loved it so much. We couldn't read the book fast enough so we started reading twice a day...each morning before school and every evening before bed. We discussed Georgie and Jeanie the Meanie at the dinner table as if they were real people. My daughters loved the intro to each new chapter...how clever! Now my daughters want a bedroom like Andy's new room. Lisa Graff is quite smart and engaging. We cannot wait to read more of her work!
March 05, 2008

Good Things

Georgie's been overlooked plenty in his life, mostly by strangers. He's nine and only 42 inches (3 and a half feet) tall. He has a medical condition called dwarfism that means he's a lot smaller than most kids his age and that he will never be as tall as his average-sized parents. Some people look over Georgie's head or turn the other way, or just think he's a lot younger than he really is. Sometimes, this is mean, but mostly, they're just uncomfortable and unsure of what to do or say.

Since kindergarten, Georgie's been buddies with Alex, and he knows that his musician parents are always there for him. But now he's feeling overlooked by his loved ones too. His mom's pregnant, his best friend's mad at him, and his partner in class is known as Jeanie the Meanie. What's a kid to do?

THE THING ABOUT GEORGIE is fun and sweet. Readers will definitely want to befriend Georgie, especially if they know what it's like to have a new baby brother or sister. This is a notable debut, and I look forward to Lisa Graff's next book!
January 02, 2008

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