About this title: The shrewdest con artist west of the Mississippi during the early 1900s was 10-year-old Tom Fitzgerald, alias "The Great Brain." The stories of his exploits and schemes are told by his younger brother J.D. "A lively, funny . . . touching book written with flair."--"Saturday Review."
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
"My 5th grader and I read this book together. He hasn't been all that interested in reading, but finally we found a book that really appealed to him. This was written by a boy who grew up as a Catholic in the pre-dominantly Mormon town of Adenville UT in the early 1900's. We loved reading about his adventures and how things were back then. We just started the sequel."
"Haven't read this in decades, probably, so it felt almost new. Loved, loved, loved! Tom and J.D are real boys. Thought at times my eyebrows raised, especially at the storyline of the boy trying to commit suicide, I loved the combination of history and humor. Will need to re-read the rest of them--and add them to my bookshelf, rather than just checking them out of the library."
"This was probably one of my favorite kids series. I love children's literature that makes you think, and is less concerned with the moral of the story than the idea of you figuring out how to solve your problems on your own. By default, most children's literature presents a moral, but I adored these books for making me THINK. Tom D. is the lovable Great Brain, and many of his schemes make a younger reader appreciate the peaks and pitfalls of relying on your own knowledge and learning from your mistakes. I flew through this series (despite the fact that for a little while, some of the later books in the series were hard to find - I'm happy they've been republished.) Around the same time, I learned to appreciate other authors in the same vein; Engle's Wrinkle in Time Series, or Bellair's Lewis Barnavelt series, among others.
I definitely recommend this to parents who want to encourage their children to read more than just the "typical" Harry Potter books. They're still great fun to re-read now, even in my 20's. :-)"
"This book is hysterical! I loved the little bits of wisdom, and most especially the attempt to contract mumps to "get even" with his brothers. There are a few pretty serious moments, and some somewhat disturbing humor, but overall, a really fun read. This would be a great one to read to your kids. I really enjoy this type of literature from time to time. It's what I consider "olde-timey" lit - like Soup, Huck Finn, Cheaper By the Dozen, etc. I had some really good laughs. I saw this was part of a series, so I look forward to reading the other books."
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