I remember reading many of the Great Brain books when I was in elementary school. The narrator is JD Fitzgerald. They are Catholics living in Southern Utah during the early 20th century. His brother, Tom, is the Great Brain. He is always thinking of schemes to make money. Sometimes they backfire. But more often, JD ends up at the poor end of the deal.
The book covers many of the adventures of the Great Brain. When his family gets a new indoor water closet, he charges all the kids a penny to go see the construction and use of it. (However, his parents end up making him refund it.) When a new Greek kid moves to town, he befriends him. He also sends his old "junk" to him to make him to help him be like local kids. He later earns money for training him to fight. In both situations, they ended up being "win win" situations.
In one episode, JD tries to be the first kid in the family to get the Mumps. He is proud of doing it and getting time to enjoy his freedom. However, his brothers end up giving him the silent treatment and JD has to bay the Great Brain for the privilege of getting back to normal.
In the end, the Great Brain works to frame a bad teacher as a drunkard in order to get rid of him. They succeed. However, JD and the Great Brain fess up and then feel remorse. The Great Brain has a change of heart and works to get the teacher reinstated. This ends up benefitting him after all as the teacher implements a kinder means of discipline.
The book is a fun read and has a "Curious George" type of feel. The Great Brain always manages to come out ahead in his plans, even if there are some short term setbacks.
No comments:
Post a Comment