Georgie and the Magician

Georgie the Ghost #5

by Robert Bright

Georgie is a friendly little ghost who lives in the Whittaker's attic. He is very shy and comes out only on rare occasions. Georgie does come out of the attic to help Mr. Whittaker when his magic wand loses its magic.

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween

45 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Robert Bright was born on Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1902 and passed away in San Francisco in 1988. He spent his childhood in Europe and completed his education at Phillips Academy, Andover, and Princeton University.

His vocations included those of newspaper reporter in Baltimore and Paris, art and music critic in Sante Fe, New Mexico, teacher in Boston, and novelist. Believing that "the imaginative child in the imaginative man is fortunately never far away," Mr. Bright has delighted in writing his numerous books for children. Many of these star Georgie, the friendly little ghost who first appeared in 1944 and has been charming young readers on both sides of the Atlantic ever since.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Georgie, the gentle little New England ghost whose adventures are set out in thirteen picture-books by Robert Bright, here lends a hand when Mr. Whittaker - whose house he haunts - volunteers to perform magic tricks at a local fund-raising event, but is unable to conjure anything but a mothball. Fortunately, Georgie and his friends, Herman the cat and Miss Oliver the owl, know just what to do to make Mr. Whittaker's part of the show a success!

Although it is not the third Georgie book to be published, Georgie and the Magician is the third I have read, and like Georgie to the Rescue (read at the same time), I found it an engaging tale of friendship and magical doings, with black-and-white illustrations that had an old-fashioned charm. Young readers who enjoy tales of spooks and witches, without the scares, will warm to this little spirit!

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the cow's barn burns down, she's facing a long, cold winter with no place to warm her udder. The villagers decide to throw a benefit talent show to earn money for a new barn. Mr. Whittaker volunteers to do some magic tricks. Unfortunately, his illusionist skills are a tad rusty. Luckily, Georgie, the world's cutest ghost, and his pals are around to "help out" at the show. It's simply AMAZING what can happen when you've got a paranormal being on your side!

Cute story, originally published in 1966.

*The cover of my copy has been slightly altered; a little girl (I assume) colored all the white space with a pink crayon, and wrote BY KELLY on the back cover. Adorable!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another adorable episode with the shy, well-meaning ghost Georgie. When a family's barn burns down, Georgie and his super-cute owl and cat friends, (secretly) help the father with his magic tricks for the new barn fundraiser. There is such a gentle warmth to these Georgie stories (this is the third I've read) and the illustrations are charming, both nostalgic and timeless (not sure that makes any sense, but it's the best I can do!)

[James Greening · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love all of the Georgie books...and this is no exception! The illustrations are just amazing!

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable!

[Debbie Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to do when the barn burns down and the "harmless cow in the meadow" has nowhere to live with winter coming? Put on a show of course and raise money to build a new barn! I loved how Mr. Whittaker volunteers to do some magic tricks and his magical abilities take on a life of their own. As he worries about disappointing the children, Georgie & his friends figure out how to make magic happen. The illustration of the old time fire truck and the volunteer firemen rushing to the barn will intrigue children who love firetrucks. The community spirit and willingness to help build a new barn is something we can still identify with.

[Peter D. Sieruta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Monica Edinger responded to a blog I wrote about Halloween stories, recommending this picture book series about a ghost. I immediately read all eight "Georgie" books in my library and found him a fun character (which came first -- Georgie or Casper?) though the individual narratives were uneven in both storyline and writing. It's interesting to watch how the rather messy original illustrations -- all in blue! -- evolve to add other colors as the books progress over the years.

[Heather Lei · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids like the two "Georgie" books we've read. I like them, too. They're cute.