The Thing About Georgie

Acclaimed middle grade author Lisa Graff’s debut novel The Thing About Georgie (2006) follows the story of Georgie Bishop, a fourth grader with dwarfism who learns that his parents are having another baby. Through Georgie’s story, the novel explores themes of The Complex Nature of Individuals, Prevailing Through the Hardships of Friendship, and Going Outside One’s Comfort Zone. The Thing About Georgie has been featured on 10 states’ middle grade reading lists for depicting a main character with a disability.

This guide refers to the paperback 2008 First Harper Trophy edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of bullying, ableism, and death.

Language Note: The Thing About Georgie frequently refers to Georgie and other little people as “dwarves,” an offensive slur to refer to people with dwarfism. This guide only includes this term in direct quotations of the source text for analytical purposes.

Plot Summary

George “Georgie” Washington Bishop is a fourth-grade boy with dwarfism. He needs accommodations for things like writing on the board, sitting at his regular-sized desk, and reaching his coat hook. Georgie sits in front of his bully, Jeanette Ann Wallace, or “Jeanie the Meanie,” who pesters him throughout class. On the last day before Christmas break, Georgie’s best friend, Andy Moretti, invites him over after school.

Georgie and Andy have a dog-walking business. Georgie walks the little dogs, even though he hates poodles. Andy suggests bringing someone else into their business to help expand. Andy has been hanging out with the new kid, Russ, lately and thinks that Russ would be the perfect addition. Georgie is jealous that Andy has hung out with someone else and rejects the idea.

Georgie goes home to his musician parents, who play in an orchestra and teach music lessons. Georgie’s room is music themed and features a poem that his parents wrote before he was born, exploring all the instruments he could choose to play. At dinner, Georgie’s parents announce that they are expecting another baby in May. Georgie feels conflicted about the news, especially when his parents assure him that the baby will be “healthy,” which Georgie takes to mean “without dwarfism.”

The next day, Georgie helps Andy pack up part of his room because Andy’s grandmother is moving in and his family doesn’t have a spare bedroom. Andy must share with her. Georgie tells Andy about the baby, and they commiserate. At home, Georgie’s family decorates for Christmas. As the littlest, Georgie gets to place the tree topper. He realizes that he won’t be the littlest next year, and that upsets him. Then, he realizes that he will one day be the littlest again, and that upsets him more.

Georgie begins tracking the baby’s height. Georgie is 42 inches tall, and the baby is already six inches. Georgie marks this on a secret measuring tape that he’s fastened to the back wall of his closet. He hates how the baby already looks big compared to him.

On Christmas Eve, before Georgie’s favorite tradition of Christmas Eve church service, Georgie’s mother receives an electrical shock, and his parents must rush to the hospital to make sure that the baby is okay. Georgie spends Christmas Eve at Andy’s, and it’s completely different from his family’s celebrations. Georgie helps Andy hang a dividing curtain in his room. Andy brings up adding Russ to the business again, upsetting Georgie. The boys get into a fight and sleep in separate rooms. Georgie waits until the day after Christmas to call Andy and apologize, but when Andy already has plans with Russ, Georgie and Andy fight again, ending their friendship.

Georgie returns to school after break. He has not spoken to Andy since their fight. When the teacher tells the students to partner up for a project, Andy and Russ partner up, leaving Georgie alone. The teacher partners Georgie and Jeanie together. Georgie would rather work alone than work with Jeanie. She is distracted throughout their first library trip, forcing Georgie to do all the work while fighting her attempts to distract him as well. Georgie secretly finds out that Jeanie is the only one in school who has checked out a library book on little people, Little in a Big World.

Georgie attends one of his parents’ concerts, where he is well-known to the whole orchestra. One orchestra member asks if Georgie has any speculation about what instrument his new sibling will play. Georgie begins to think about how his parents probably expected him to play an instrument, but Georgie’s dwarfism hinders his ability to hold instruments and play properly.

Georgie must go to Jeanie’s house to work on their project, where he learns about her home life. Jeanie’s two older brothers bully her and talk to her the way she talks to everyone else. When they ask if Georgie is Jeanie’s friend, Georgie remains silent, upsetting Jeanie. The next day, Jeanie signs Georgie up to play Abraham Lincoln in the school play. Georgie tries not to tell his parents, but they find out anyway. Georgie is terrified of having to portray the tallest president in front of the school, calling attention to his dwarfism.

Georgie has swimming lessons, which he is great at, and asks his mother if he can stay after to swim for fun. Jeanie harasses Georgie the entire time he’s at the pool and follows him on his walk home. When they pass Andy’s house, Jeanie tries to cause trouble, but Georgie stops her. She throws a rock at him when he calls her “Jeanie the Meanie.” Then, Andy’s grandmother Nonna Rosa emerges. She does not speak English, but she wants the kids to stop fighting on her lawn. She retrieves her keys. Georgie initially thinks that she’s offering them a ride home, but after climbing in her car, he realizes that she has mistaken Georgie and Jeanie for friends of Andy’s and is taking them to Russ’s house to play.

Nonna Rosa quickly gets lost, and Jeanie begins to panic. Georgie takes the initiative to find a pay phone, and between his short stature and Nonna Rosa’s language barrier, the two of them manage to call Georgie’s parents. Georgie’s mother drives Georgie and Jeanie home, leading Nonna Rosa back. Jeanie is very sweet to Georgie’s mother and reveals that she’s been trying to be Georgie’s friend for years. She thinks that Georgie hates her because he called her “Jeanie the Meanie.”

Andy comes to Georgie’s house the next day. The boys talk through their issues and apologize. Georgie agrees to ride bikes with Andy and Russ. When Andy’s mother picks him up, she brings Nonna Rosa, who says that Georgie saved the day. Inspired by watching Georgie adapt to the world, she plans to take English lessons even though she’s 65 years old. Georgie, Andy, and Russ bike together the next weekend. Andy recruits Georgie and Russ to help him come up with ideas for his new bedroom, which his parents are adding to the house.

As the school play approaches, Georgie worries about playing Abraham Lincoln. He stumbles through the final rehearsal because some second graders are laughing at him. Afterward, Jeanie approaches Georgie, offering to help. Georgie refuses at first but eventually agrees. The next night, before the play, Georgie helps Russ with his lines. Jeanie arrives backstage with a costume fashioned from coffee cans to make Georgie taller. While she helps him into the costume, the seventh grader working backstage insults Georgie and calls him a slur. Jeanie kicks the seventh grader in the shin and defends Georgie. She gives Georgie some final encouragement before sending him on stage.

Georgie’s performance goes well. He begins to use the costume to get the crowd to laugh, happy that they aren’t laughing at him for being short. His parents are proud of him. In the car while on the way home, Georgie finally talks to his parents about the baby. He asks if his parents would love him more if he played an instrument. His parents explain that, while they hoped he’d find happiness in playing music the way they do, they love him for who he is and just want him to be happy. They also say that they can’t know what the baby will play, if anything. Georgie taught them that they can’t know what to expect. Georgie is satisfied.

Andy debuts his new bedroom—a culmination of ideas and work put in by all three boys. Georgie recruits Andy and Russ to help with his room. A week before his sibling is born, Georgie reveals a new poem on his walls, one that he wrote for the baby. Georgie plans to give his room to the baby and move into the guest room. His parents are pleased. Georgie’s little sister is born a week later, and Georgie decides that he can handle whatever comes after.