by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 02, 2010

It's a ghost! But he's really cute... In the early 1960s, Robert Bright wrote a series of picture books about Georgie the Ghost, who is young, cute, and, yes, a tiny bit spooky. Bright describes him as "the gentle little ghost," maybe to keep from confusing him with "the friendly ghost," Casper, who had his own children's cartoon on television at about the same time. Casper began appearing in short theatrical cartoons in the 1940s, and eventually appeared in a popular line of Harvey comic books. But put him out of your head, because this book isn't about Casper the Ghost. This book is about...Georgie!

Bright spins his tale with a quirky narration - it's gentle, hushed, and rambling. ("Every night, as everybody knows, Georgie has to creak the stairs and squeak the parlor door to remind Mr. and Mrs. Whittaker that it's time to go to bed and to sleep...") There's also some simple sketches, which Bright draws using nothing but dark blue lines and shading. But with a fond attention to detail, he recreates the world of the ghost.

The Whittakers wear old-fashioned hats, and there's a home-y pattern of white on the wallpaper beside their stairs. A tiny mouse looks on innocently, and there's a stand of umbrellas by the door. Georgie floats down the stairs - apparently reaching his wing-like arm for the banister to his left. And there's a wonderful illustration of his home in the attic - where he's surrounded by elaborate antiques.

It's a strangely peaceful scene - but that's what starts all the trouble. Mr. and Mrs. Whittaker leave for a church sociable...and they don't lock their door. "They never gave a thought to all the cozy antique furniture they had," Bright explains, adding that antiques are worth money and that sometimes people will try to steal them. He introduces two men arriving in a truck - wearing masks - then announces that they are robbers. The men load the rocking chairs into their truck, then the sofa, and then Georgie's antiques. But unfortunately for them, during their getaway, the truck loses a tire.

The story rambles along to its climax. (The police will arrive slowly, so the only solution is to frighten the robbers away from the furniture.) But Georgie is accompanied by a cow and an owl, which allow Bright to indulge in an extra big set-up. The skittish robbers suddenly see a face at the window - and it's a face that goes...moo. Then there's a flapping of wings in their hide-out, and it's a bird that says...hoo.

"But then something else flitted past the door, and it said boooooo...."

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