Rating: 
Summary: Funny but also sometimes very dark...
Review: The Great Brain, Tom D. Fitzgerald, is a very smart, but also very greedy boy, who finds all kinds of ways to make a penny (back when a penny was worth something). The chapters mostly involve him trying to con people out of their money OR trying to make money from schemes that most of us would think of as unethical.
Yet he also uses that great brain to solve problems for others kids, such as Andy who thinks he is so plump useless without his lost leg that he tries to kill himself or the Jenson kids who got lost in the Skeleton Caves.
The chapter on Abie, his strongbox and his pride really got to me and I'm not sure how a kid, even a mature one, will respond to the issues brought up in that part of the book.
The book is bitter-sweet, the fantasy of the good old days mixed with realistic themes of every day life.
Rating: 
Summary: great brain
Review: sean wills. it was a great story but how could it be all true.
I think the parents should of done somthing
more severe then the silent treatment. I read some
of the secondn book I'd give it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Feed your brain and your kids'
Review: This is a review of the audiotapes from Listening Library of "the Great Brain" and "More of the Great Brain". First, I don't agree with some of the reviews that suggest books today like Harry Potter for kids are trash. This series is truly fantastic, but so it Harry Potter. You don't have to hate one to like the other. Second, the audiotapes for this series are terrific, and you can play the tapes and listen as a whole family as these stories are just as fascinating for adults as they are for children. Although the stories recount the childhood of a boy almost a hundred years ago, the perspective in which they are told is a very modern one, and cannot be faulted for language or accessibility or naivete in the way that many of our childhood favorites (if like me, you grew up during the 1950s) could be criticized today by uninterested children. Additionally, the stories offer the perspective for children brought up in a world of television and computer screens how people amused themselves before radio and television handicapped childrens' imaginations and made them dependent upon electronics for amusement. The moral aspect of the stories is an additional attraction to the sheer delight of the tales themselves. I was so pleased to hear the moral sophistication of the parental attitudes in this tape as I listened along with my daughter--there was nothing except the community's tolerance of physical punishment that was unacceptable to me, and even that punishment was neither wholeheartedly accepted by the parents in the story, nor was it portrayed in a way that made it sound like the author was nostalgic for the days when parents and teachers had total authority and whipped their kids. In fact, one child's leg has to be amputated in the story, and the author makes it very clear that it was the child's fear of a whipping from his parents that was responsible for keeping the child from reporting the injury until it became infected. We listen to audiotapes in the car on a regular basis, and often after dinner while doing puzzles or knitting or doing dishes,etc. This activity allows us to be together as a family in the evening and to have readings in common to discuss together as well. These particular stories lend themselves well to family discussions because many issues raised by the children's behavior--as well as that of the adults in the stories--remain morally relevant. The differences in the ways people lived and their access to technology is also of great interest to kids and adults alike. For example, the family had a telephone but only got a "water closet" in the first of the stories that is told about the Fitzgerald family growing up non-Mormon in Mormon Utah. I highly recommend both sets of audiotapes, as well as, of course the books.
Rating:
Summary: Review of The Great Brain
Review: The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald Have you ever had a brother who annoys you every day? Well J.D. has a brother named Tom who always annoys him. I like this book because the author tells his life as J.D. in a story-like way. This is a great book because J.D. shares his life with Tom. The main idea is that J.D. loved Tom, his older brother, although he annoyed him every day. Is Tom the great brain? Find out in The Great Brain by John .
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Series
Review: As with many of the other reviewers, I became hooked on these books in grammar school. The "Great Brain" was the first in the series that I read, and before the end of the first chapter I was addicted! I've begun reading them to my 5 year old son, and he loves them as much I did (still do!). As a parent, there are several aspects of the stories that I really appreciate. The first is to use your brain and think through situations to find a solution. Tom's problem solving is usually pretty creative. The other lesson from these books is they teach that there is a consequece to one's actions. Tom may have a great brain, but being a child he doesn't always know the boundaries he should live within, and his great brain sometimes lands him in trouble. He's not simply punished. He also receives as explanation as to why there was a punishment. This is an important lesson for children. You know, there are times when, after finishing a chapter with my son, I'll take the book with me and read ahead a few chapters. All the while, experiencing again the joy and fun I had reading them for the first time.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Tom,a 12 year old boy who is unbelievably bright. First, he uses his great brain to swindle people. By the end of the book he changes or "reforms" by helping people face their fears. Jhon D. Fitzgarald would like the reader to understand that you must use your talents wisely in helpful ways not harmful ways. Also, you can be consittered a geniuseven if you don't have a great brain. I liked this book and recomend it to anyone who enjoys special friendships and history of the 1800's. WARNNING: PEOPLE CUSS (SWEAR) IN THIS BOOK 3-5 TIMES.
Rating:
Summary: Great series
Review: I discovered this book when I was a substitute teacher and had to read aloud a few chapters to a 5th grade class. I went to the library and got a copy to read aloud to my daughter, who was the same age. Over the next 2 yrs or so I read the whole series to her. She loved them and so did I. The ways the Great Brain confounds kids and adults alike are amusing. I'm a fan of historical fiction and I loved the glimpse at life at the turn of the century. Things aren't all sugar coated nor seen thru rose colored glasses, either, so you get a real idea of life back then...
Rating:
Summary: read aloud book
Review: This series has been my favorite for reading to my two children (8 yo daughter and 5 yo son)at night. The stories are often funny and bittersweet. Life isn't sugarcoated and some terrible things happen, but the tone is very life affirming. I like the description of daily life of a hundred years ago and how fortunate we are in many ways as well as what we lack in our life compared to T.D., et al.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful for Kids - Boy or Girl
Review: I read the "Great Brain" series every summer when I was a kid. As a Catholic girl living in mostly-Mormon Salt Lake City, I loved reading about this family of boys in small-town Utah. The exploits of The Great Brain, and his relationship with his brothers, and his family's relationship with the other townsfolk, made for great stories. Funny, easy to read, and thrilling stories. I now have a toddler son and can't wait for when he's older to introduce these books to him!
Rating:
Summary: Tom Sawyer meets Encyclopedia Brown
Review: I loved the Great Brain as a kid. Tom has a crafty brilliance about him, reminding me of the famous Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn fence-painting scene. Tom gets what he wants by thinking on his feet, adjusting his approach when necessary, and always winding up with a little more than he started with. Readers of mysteries will find the Great Brain intriguing in the same way they wonder whodunit. Here, we wonder, "Hmm... would that work on my best friend in fourth grade." Unless you're as smart as Tom, probably not. The genuis in the midst of a little boy is wonderful to watch in action! Despite the sneakiness, there is the gentle relationship between Tom and his brother. No worries here for parents looking to guide their children into wholseome reading supporting good values. The book is a classic. Buy it for your oldest, and watch your youngest child be drawn into it as soon as he or she is able. I fully recommend this book. Anthony Trendl
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