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sallyavena's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting story of a boy's childhood with his brother, 'The Great Brain' running the show.
mary00's review against another edition
4.0
I read this aloud with my fifth grader and we both got a kick out if it (although part of the last chapter was a little eyebrow raising).
My son enjoyed it enough that he wants to continue on with the series.
My son enjoyed it enough that he wants to continue on with the series.
christina_likes_to_read's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really fun book. I read it aloud to my son and we both had a good time with it. My one caution would be that this book deals with some pretty heavy topics: death and suicide. It can spark some great conversations with your children and the heavy parts are a relatively small part of the book. However, I find that books like this lend themselves very well to read alouds where you can gauge your children's reactions and discuss the topics with them. With all that aside, I really did enjoy this book and plan on reading it with my other children soon.
eriynali's review against another edition
3.0
read as an adult. not sure all the ideas are appropriate for kids without a bit of adult help. a guy who dies of starvation because people don't worry about him "because he's a jew" ..... ??? and trying to help your friend commit suicide.... ???
showell's review against another edition
4.0
What The Five-Year-Old Thought: "I can't explain why I liked it except that JD is telling the story. Tom is the one with the Great Brain and he rescued a few guys."
What Mommyo thought: My husband is in the process of reading this to our 5YO. Both are really enjoying it (true confessions -- my husband read this as a child, so his enjoyment may be partly nostalgia).
When they got to the bit about making homemade ice cream, The 5YO said: “Daddyo, I want to jump into the book right that second.”
You should definitely try this one at your house. :)
Update -- Potential Spoiler Alert & Parental Warning:
Last night we got to the part where one of the characters dies. It's a very tough chapter. My husband who was reading it, skimmed over it, because The Five-Year-Old wasn't in a good place to deal with the sadness or the reasons for the death (she was having a tough night already).
I mention it because you may want to read this book before sharing it with your children, so that you'll be prepared for the questions they'll have about some of the tough subjects it raises.
Also, the attitudes toward Native Americans are not, shall we say, in line with current thinking. You'll want to be prepared to deal with questions stemming from that -- or to simply address it head on while your child is reading this book.
What Mommyo thought: My husband is in the process of reading this to our 5YO. Both are really enjoying it (true confessions -- my husband read this as a child, so his enjoyment may be partly nostalgia).
When they got to the bit about making homemade ice cream, The 5YO said: “Daddyo, I want to jump into the book right that second.”
You should definitely try this one at your house. :)
Update -- Potential Spoiler Alert & Parental Warning:
Last night we got to the part where one of the characters dies. It's a very tough chapter. My husband who was reading it, skimmed over it, because The Five-Year-Old wasn't in a good place to deal with the sadness or the reasons for the death (she was having a tough night already).
I mention it because you may want to read this book before sharing it with your children, so that you'll be prepared for the questions they'll have about some of the tough subjects it raises.
Also, the attitudes toward Native Americans are not, shall we say, in line with current thinking. You'll want to be prepared to deal with questions stemming from that -- or to simply address it head on while your child is reading this book.
verydazedragon's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The stories are pretty funny. There’s not really a central plot, just a bunch of stories put together.
annmaries's review against another edition
4.0
My dad read these to us kids when I was younger. My overdeveloped sense of justice made me loathe Tom, and as a grown-up, I still loathe people like him, but it's hard to deny that the stories make for a good laugh. And even, should you be so inclined, an opportunity to talk to younger kids about justice and fairness in an everyday, concrete kind of way.
bookgirl4ever's review
5.0
Set in 1896, the year Utah became a state, non-Mormon J.D. recounts the feats of his older brother Tom's "great brain". The stories in this book are funny and present a wild west lifestyle that kids will think is cool.
gamesbooksnchocolate's review
4.0
(This review was originally posted in Habitica’s Book Lust guild!)
Finished John D. Fitzgerald’s The Great Brain! It was fun to read, just because of all the adventure- and watching Tom swindle the kids of the town out of their money. It was a school read, but I’m not very sure why it was picked. The curriculum is about the 20th century, but I don’t think it is an icon of the time. Tom isn’t exactly a moral icon (neither the opposite, he just wants to get a buck however he can). Or maybe they just wanted to tell us you can get money out of anything…? I don’t know, but I definitely liked this book. 7/10
Finished John D. Fitzgerald’s The Great Brain! It was fun to read, just because of all the adventure- and watching Tom swindle the kids of the town out of their money. It was a school read, but I’m not very sure why it was picked. The curriculum is about the 20th century, but I don’t think it is an icon of the time. Tom isn’t exactly a moral icon (neither the opposite, he just wants to get a buck however he can). Or maybe they just wanted to tell us you can get money out of anything…? I don’t know, but I definitely liked this book. 7/10
wordyanchorite's review against another edition
4.0
This is, bar none, the most terrifying childhood memoir I have ever read. I mean, all kids do stupid stuff, but *these* kids... I'm surprised J.D. survived to write the story.
This is an easy enough read; each chapter neatly encapsulates an entertaining story. That doesn't make this a "kids" book, though. Serious themes are touched on throughout, especially those related to diversity. This book has moments that adult readers may find dark and disturbing, but which children may not feel as acutely.
The end came too early, and the "reformation" of the Great Brain was quick, unfounded, and not very convincing. On the whole, though, I'm excited to share this book with my high school students.
This is an easy enough read; each chapter neatly encapsulates an entertaining story. That doesn't make this a "kids" book, though. Serious themes are touched on throughout, especially those related to diversity. This book has moments that adult readers may find dark and disturbing, but which children may not feel as acutely.
The end came too early, and the "reformation" of the Great Brain was quick, unfounded, and not very convincing. On the whole, though, I'm excited to share this book with my high school students.