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papidoc's review against another edition
5.0
Cheaper By The Dozen is a biographical account of experiences in the lives of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and their 12 children. Frank and Lillian were two prominent time-and-motion scientists/consultants in the early days of the scientific management movement. Written by two of their children, this is an often humorous and occasionally instructive account of life with the 14 members of the Gilbreth family in the early days of the twentieth century. As efficiency experts, Frank and Lillian invented the "Therblig" (look at it backwards), units of human movement which they believed could be scientifically combined to make human movement in task accomplishment more efficient and less costly. The accounts of their intervention to make tonsillectomies more efficient, or to improve their bricklayer's efficiency, or many other such experiences are hilarious!
mbrandmaier's review against another edition
5.0
I read this a couple years ago. Lovely story, lovely family. The parents ran a very tight ship, but it was apparent they cared very much for their children.
rheren's review against another edition
4.0
This was pretty funny, but parts were painfully dated. I read some whole sentences that not only contained nothing that the kids could relate to, they contained nothing that even I had ever heard of. Occasionally you'd have whole paragraphs about gramaphone records of songs I'd never heard of and colloquial discussions of 1920s fashions and such that I couldn't even translate for the kids because the references were too dated for even me to understand. However, the overall story has many funny aspects to it, and the kids enjoyed some of the wackiness. It was enjoyable overall, but there are parts that haven't aged well.
srobertsp's review against another edition
5.0
This is at least my third read, likely my fourth, but my first in many years. It is still as delightful as always. The story and the illustrations of this edition were all familiar and still hilarious. Now I need to re-watch the original Clifton Webb movie version. And on to read Belles on Their Toes for the first time. And the Frank, Jr. bio of his parents too, Time Out for Happiness.
jedwardsusc's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Still charming, although some parts are harder to get through as an adult.
reneesmith's review against another edition
5.0
It was fun & satisfying to spend time with an old favorite. I first read this as a middle schooler, and though the setting of the book is "before my time," it still brought back many fond memories. My dad was a brash, outrageous, life-of-the-party character with a big heart for his family--similar to the Gilbreth dad. I enjoyed this quick trip to the past--the Gilbreth kids & mine.
gloame's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book SO much when I was a kid. It stuck with me for ages after reading it.
anemone42's review against another edition
4.0
In some ways, I feel guilty about my high rating. I fell in love with this book before I understood that Mother and Father were parodying minstrel shows--yuk! The family dinner table makes the entire book worth reading, though. Topics of general interest! Banging elbows! How marvelous!