The Great Brain
No. 1 in The Great Brain series
by John D. Fitzgerald
illustrated by Mercer Mayer
|
Puffin (New York): 1967. Trade paperback: 192 pages. ISBN-10: 0-14-240058-0 Suggested retail price: $4.99 (US) Tags: frontier; made into movie; Mormons; Utah; Youth Tactical strength: [8/10] |
Compare prices on The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald at Book Cost
J.D. Fitzgerald, age seven, tells of his adventures with his older brother Tom, alias the Great Brain. Tom, age 10, unabashedly admits that he has the greatest brain in all of Adenville, a fictional town set in rural Utah. When Mr. Fitzgerald ("Papa") installs the first flushing toilet in their town, Tom devises a scheme to charge the neighborhood kids each a penny to see the "Magic Water Closet." Although Tom prefers to use his brain for profit, he also uses it to rescue boys lost in a nearby cave, help an immigrant Greek boy feel welcome, and teach a friend who lost a leg to use his new peg leg.
I loved The Great Brain as a kid, and I still love its charm and wit. Fitzgerald places interesting characters in a fascinating old-West setting and puts them through fun adventures. We get to join J.D. in his admiration of the Great Brain, but we also get to sample life in rural 1890s Utah. For example, Abie Glassman tries to open a store in town, but he quickly goes out of business (and dies) because the Mormons (and many of the non-Mormons) will only shop at the Mormon-owned ZCMI store. You never get the impression that Fitzgerald holds a negative opinion of Mormons, he just describes the life of his characters as they lived it.
