Me and My Little Brain
No. 3 in The Great Brain series
by John D. Fitzgerald
illustrated by Mercer Mayer
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Puffin (New York): 1971. Trade paperback: 144 pages. ISBN-10: 0-14-240064-5 Suggested retail price: $4.99 (US) Tags: adoption; boys; frontier; outlaws; rifles; Utah; Youth Tactical strength: [8/10] |
Compare prices on Me and My Little Brain by John D. Fitzgerald at Book Cost
With Tom, the Great Brain, off at the academy, nine-year-old John Fitzgerald figures that he can take his brother's place swindling all the kids in town. John makes several good attempts at working over the kids, such as renting Tom's bike out to other kids and trading up from an Indian war bonnet to a piglet. Each of John's attempts ultimately leave John worse off financially than he started out, and after receiving some good advice from his father, decides to just be himself with his little brain.
New adventures start with the arrival of Frankie, a four-year-old orphan boy whose parents and brother die in a landslide. The Fitzgerald family adopts Frankie, but John doesn't immediately like the idea. At first, Frankie won't talk and literally bites the hand of anyone that tries to touch him. Even though warned by his parents not to lay a hand on Frankie, John gets fed up with Frankie's abuse and gives him a good paddling. John expects to get a severe punishment from his parents, but to his surprise the paddling allowed Frankie to get over the shock of losing his parents and stop abusing his new family. John quickly warms up to Frankie, especially when John tries to take on the class bully. The bully gets John down on the ground, but Frankie jumps on the bully and nearly bites his ear off.
Later in the summer, the outlaw Cal Roberts escapes from jail. Roberts had threatened to kill the town judge, marshal, and the jury foreman that convicted him -- in this case John's father. Roberts tries to make an assault on the town at night but gets wounded and hides in the Fitzgerald's barn. There he takes Frankie hostage, and it looks like Roberts will use Frankie as leverage, and John tries to put his little brain to work on saving his new little brother.
I find this the most touching of all the Great Brain books. It tells a story of true brotherly love developing between John and Frankie, and the emotions John feels as he changes from hating Frankie to laying his life on the line to rescue the adopted brother he has come to adore. Fitzgerald tells his stories with smooth precision that doesn't use any extra words but also clearly evokes the frontier setting. The illustrations by Mercer Mayer complement Fitzgerald's story and give a better feel for the fashion and settings of the 1890s.
