Cheaper by the Dozen

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Summary: Cheaper by the Dozen
Review: This book is about a family that consists of twelve kids! The family moves and the kids are very excited. The book is full of adventors and excitment. Twelve kids, A caring mother and a srict father can make a pretty interesting household... and life! There is two versions of the book and a movie based on the books. Although the movie and books are a little different, people of all ages can enjoy! Many people, even adults have read both books and saw themovie, and loved it!

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Summary: Would you like to have 11 siblings?
Review: Cheaper by the Dozen is a good book for children who like true stories. It is about a family of 14 people and 12 of them are children. My favorite character is Frank. I like Frank because he is independent. The funniest part of the book is when they find Mikes athletic cup in the dish washer. You should read Cheaper by the Dozen.

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Summary: Cheaper by the Dozen-- Honors English fifth period!
Review: Cheaper by the Dozen, written by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernstine Gilbreth Carey, was published in 1963. I found this charming story to be captivating, motivational, heartwarming, and humorous. It was written with a casual historic format. It was based on a true story and reflected outstanding personal ethics. The story was coiled around the father of twelve children, Frank Gilbreth Sr., who was in the business of "motion study" which he was very good at. Motion study was said to be finding the way to make-work quicker and more efficient. The day that Frank had proudly taken his wife's hand in marriage he had told her that he wanted to have 12 children, 6 boys and 6 girls. The tale was a telling of how the young couple got to that point and what happened from there. Three of this books main aspects which added to its splendor were the emotions portrayed, the experiences shared with the reader, and the originality of the whole anecdote. I would easily recommend this story of family love, hardships and success to any person.

This book was an emotional story of a large family and its path. I found there to be many emotions that were experienced while reading the book. Many emotions were such that made you react and think. Frank had a very evident pride of his family which was touching to the reader and showed much character. This was shown more than once when he had a business partner over and "whistled assembly" to show how fast his children could present themselves. The ending was a sad and unexpected one that didn't give an immediate positive impression on the book. The ending, which I will not give away, was shocking to me but it caused a realization of how strong and together the family was through good and bad times. The emotions portrayed by the characters played a large role in the theme of the story and added much to the end product.

Individuality and character were expressed by the Gilbreth families' experiences. The occasions that I couldn't relate that I read about to were fun to learn about. For example, I was constantly entertained by the idea of having 11 siblings, which I have never experienced. The aspect of unusual experiences added an unexpected flavor to the book and gave it a stand out quality. Often in the story the authors would write many examples and details giving the reader an inclusive feel, like you're actually experiencing the event, that you don't often find with books. The addition to the book of multiple incidents, some out of the ordinary and others everyday, put a positive influence on the book Cheaper by the Dozen.

What made the book irresistible for me was its originality. It made it into the type of book that you have to keep reading. You can't put it down until you're finished. Several times I found myself being amazed at the setting of the story. It was so different in every way that it was for me contrary to everyday life. Another aspect of the story was that the authors were so open and detailed in their writing that the reader felt compelled to learn more about the family and what they are like now. The quality of originality found in this book has caused the book to stand out in my mind, and alter my actions for the better in areas such as time management. If the book had been blasé it would not have been the success that it truly was.

Cheaper by the Dozen was a humorous story that was a joy to read and share with others. The book, contrary to others that I have read, was entertaining. I walked away feeling as if I had received advice from a close relative who had an interesting tale to tell. The last several lines of the book, where a reporter asked Frank Gilbreth Sr. why he wanted to save time and what he used his spare time for, really caused me to react emotionally because they put a finishing coat on the book that couldn't have been done better. This book comes highly recommended from me to anyone who has a desire to read something worthwhile and wholesome with a flare of comedy.

This is what Frank Gilbreth Sr. said in reply to the reporter's question:
"For work, if you love that best...For education, for beauty, for art, for pleasure...For mumblety-peg, if that's where your heart lies."

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Summary: great memoir
Review: This original memoir is about growing up in a large family in the early 1900s with parents who are both loving and intelligent.Mother Lillian is actually Dr. Gilbraith, an accomplished published psychologist, in a time when few women worked outside the home. I loved that she would find herself misquoted in articles about her, saying she was prouder of being a mother than all of her degrees and publications. "Why can't I be proud of both?" she asks plainitively. That same thing is happening 100 years later!

Father Frank is an efficiency expert, schooled in motion study where he demonstrates time and again how saving motion saves time saves money. He is loving and humorous, and spends a lot of time teaching the kids to reach their potential.

There (...) I love that eldest sister Anne's boyfriend is the 1920s version of Ashton Kutcher in the lame 2003 movie -- his flashy car is a Ford Model T, his trendy clothes is a racoon coat.

The kids all band together and play tricks on one another, but they also help each other -- when a peeping Tom is in a tree spying on a sister, they surround the tree with torches and smoke him out.

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Summary: Cheaper By the Dozen
Review: The book Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey shows how hard it is to live and raise 12 children. It also demonstrates how families learn to work together in one big group. They worked through their problems by not taking everything so seriously.
One way the book shows how life is a lot harder with 12 children, is by the amount of money the parents have to spend on the kids. For example, the kids clothes, their school supplies, their furniture, their sports equipment, their food and their doctor bills. The parents both have to work really hard to pay for these things and more. The father is able to work through problems without being stressed, and instead of making them serious, he makes them humorous.
The book illustrates how the family works together in a group. For example, the family is able to clean the house in a quicker period of time than a regular family of 4 or 5, even though there is a much, much, much bigger mess to clean up. Their everyday life is full of humor and surprises.
Cheaper by the Dozen is a very funny book. If you want to laugh, I recommend you read this book.

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Summary: Lovable a half-century ago, lovable now
Review: CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN is an endearing book, and a book that stays with the reader.

I first read it decades ago, when I was a kid. It already had historic overtones then, and it seems even more historic today.

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (a reference to the number of children in the Gilbreth family) accurately represents life in America in the early years of the 20th Century, a simpler time in every way.

Reading this autobiography by siblings Frank Gilbreth and his sister, Ernestine Carey, one is reminded of those values that combined together to make the United States the greatest country in the history of the world.

The book also transmits a sense of the fun it was to be part of a large family in those long-ago days, and the pride--even the complacency--that came with being citizens of this nation.

The original movie made from this book follows the family faithfully; the recent feature film has nothing to do with the real-life Gilbreth family, other than its title.

So, read CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN and take a trip to a nicer time now far, far away.

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Summary: Above the Crowd!
Review: Frank Gilbreth, a man of great pride and confidence, always sought the respect and attention of everyone and always looked to stand above the crowd. Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey write a comic-filled Cheaper by the Dozen to tell of all the adventures of growing up in a family of fourteen. There is no other man more capable of raising twelve children than Frank Gilbreth. Being a world-famous efficiency expert, Frank often used the children as guinea pigs to test out his different theories. He put the newborn baby Anne into the bathtub because he thought newborn babies could instinctively swim. When Anne could not swim he took her out of the tub and looked at the nurse and said, "Now if it had been a boy."
His ability to never show a sign of weakness helped to keep him one step ahead of his children. It is one laugh after another as Mr. Gilbreth tries to control his circus of children. With each adventure you can't help but fall more in love with the Gilbreth family. Cheaper by the Dozen is a classic tale of fond memories of growing up in early America, but like the Gilbreth family, continues to stand above the rest.

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Summary: Not your children's "Cheaper by the Dozen"
Review: One of the finest pieces of children's literature written in the twentieth-century. There are books in this world that deserve to be remembered and books that do not. This book is perhaps THE funniest book of the 40s, and it is certainly one of the best. The events recounted are based in fact (with a little literary license thrown in). In real life, Frank Gilbreth was the foremost expert in the country on motion study and its effects. Transferring this knowledge to his home life, Frank attempted to raise his twelve children according to his own unique set of rules and regulations. The result was sometimes catastrophic, sometimes brilliant, and always funny.

As other reviewers of this book have mentioned, this book has nothing to do with the 2003 movie starring Steve Martin. When I noticed that the poster of this movie was exhibited on the cover of this book and being sold in stores everywhere as its original inspiration, I was a little angry. The movie and the book have exactly one fact in common. Twelve children in a single family.

Like all books written in the past, there are elements to this book to be aware of. There's a Chinese cook in the story that speaks broken English and occasionally reacts violently to the children. When a birth-control advocate arrives at the house, the Gilbreths take the opportunity to turn the situation humorously to their advantage. But really, in the scope of 40's children's literature, these are small potatoes. To read this book as a kid is to love it. Heck, to read the book as an adult is to love it as well. Ten stars would I give it if I could. Unfortunately, I only have five to work with.

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Summary: Oh, I had to REREAD this!!!
Review: Cheaper by the Dozen is one of the greatest books ever. I had such fond memories of sitting in my 6th grade class after eating lunch, when my teacher would dim the lights and, in the filtering afternoon sunlight, read to his class several pages a day of a book he liked and wanted to share. Cheaper by the Dozen was one of these books. I just finished grad school and I went back and reread this, especially since I was disgusted by the remake of the movie. The story in the Gilbreth's novel is not just about a family and its crazy way of life, but it's really a commentary on life in the first half of the 20th century, when everything was changing and Dad longed to instill traditional values while using his family as a test pilot for his quirky ideas. This is something no modern update film could possibly capture. This book is the childhood every kids wishes they had. A good, old-fashioned Sunday picnic of a novel, complete with typing contests, the man from Nantucket, and an early model Ford with a mind of its own. A real gem!!!

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Summary: A perennial favorite
Review: When I, with only one sibling, went to my friend Cathy's house, the logistics of that household blew my mind, even though I was only about ten. Cathy was one of thirteen children. At lunchtime, Cathy's mom called out from the hammock where she was reading a magazine. She asked the oldest child to get three loaves of bread and four packages of hot dogs from the freezer and make lunch for the 15-20 (many of her own and lots of their friends) children who played in the big shady Michigan backyard. I remember stopping and staring at her. Four packages of hot dogs? Suddenly I understood why she always commandeered at least two kids to accompany her when she visited the local A&P. Imagine the train of grocery carts...
For me, reading Cheaper by the Dozen was like revisiting those Michigan afternoons. The adventures of the Gilbreth family are enduring and endearing, memories of one not-all-that-unusual huge family that muddled along at the turn of the twentieth century. Experimental industrial efficiency methods were used by the parents, so the household hummed along with the precise scheduling of an assembly-line factory. The humor is broad, the tone is generally loving, the characters are well-developed, and the numerous children manage (mostly) to emerge as individuals both in life and in the telling.
Cheaper by the Dozen remains a classic and can still be enjoyed by people of all ages. It's actually a good one to read aloud to your own modern little family of 3 ½ persons.