Georgie and the Robbers

Robert Bright's merry Georgie And The Robbers (1963) was one of the last in the famous long - running children's series which began with 1944's Georgie and continued for 12 more volumes. Georgie, as many adults will remember, is a quiet, happy little ghost who haunts the Whittaker house in a small New England village. The series' most enduring image is that of Georgie peering out from the center attic window, for the cluttered attic is the room that Georgie calls his own. Every night at the appointed time, Georgie descends from his attic and, by causing a loose board on the stairs to creak and the hinges of a door to squeak, reminds Mr. And Mrs. Whittaker that it is time for bed, Herman the cat that it is time to prowl, and Mrs. Oliver the owl that it is time to wake up for the night. Georgie And The Robbers tells the simple story of what happens when burglars invade the Whittaker home after the trusting couple leave to attend a church social with the doors unlocked. Of course, Georgie, Herman, Mrs. Oliver, and the family cow unite to foil the evildoers. The apparently childless Whittakers are a proper, middle - aged couple who sit side by side every night with contented smiles on their faces. Mrs. Whittaker knits, while Mr. Whittaker simply reclines and rests his feet. Might Georgie be the spirit of a Whittaker child that has passed away? Bright makes it clear that Georgie is the ghost of a young boy, but his origins are otherwise left in mystery. Though he remains unseen by the Whittakers, he clearly esteems them, and indeed has a loving relationship with all the members of the family, both human and animal. In fact, Georgie turns the adult / child relationship on its head, since it is the ghost who is the caregiver and guardian in his relationship to his loved ones. Has Georgie been a ghost for centuries, or decades, or for only a short period? Always smiling, Georgie clearly lives in homey comfort at the Whittaker estate. Robert Bright was a charming storyteller as well as a moody, excellent illustrator known for his blue ink and blue pencil drawings. His bucolic New England village and the surrounding countryside seem to exist in a state of perpetual autumn: the trees are continually shedding the last of their leaves, the moonlit fields of corn and wheat stretch endlessly out towards the horizons of the night, and the winding country lanes are distant, windswept, and lonely. The Victorian Whittaker house is full of antique gramophones, spinning wheels, overstuffed chairs, veiled lamps, Edwardian loveseats, straw boaters, umbrella stands, flowered wallpaper, and grand staircases. The Georgie series make an excellent introduction to the lighter side of the supernatural in entertainment. Parents can use the books to introduce it and other subjects, such as Halloween, to very young audiences. The series might also be used to comfortably familiarize children with the idea of death, since Georgie's state of being will require explan

I read this story as a child in our summer home in New Jersey and rediscovered it again during a recent visit to our cabin with my children. They were enchanted with Georgie, the gentle and endearing ghost, and his friends, Oliver the owl and Miss Herman, the cat. We had to read the story over and over again. Even though it was about a ghost, Georgie is portrayed so sweetly that my two year old even requested it as a bedtime story. I especially liked the way that the robbers were portrayed as strangers--something I didn't appreciate myself as a child, but gave me the opportunity to reinforce the "stranger concept" to my children. The Georgie series were happy memories from my childhood reading--I remember wishing that I had lived in such a village as Mr.and Mrs. Whitaker--and I hope I can obtain the rest of the books for my daughter's birthday.