Great Brain, The

• 1. Great Brain, The (1967)

  [8/10]

  "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."

• 2. More Adventures of the Great Brain (1969)

  [7/10]

  "Fitzgerald continues to chronicle his adventures with his older brother Tom, the Great Brain. This volume gets a little repetitive with the opening and closing chapters both involving the boys sneaking out at night to places forbidden by their parents. In each case, Tom shames other boys into going out late at night to prove his point, either that monsters do exist or that ghosts don't."

• 3. Me and My Little Brain (1971)

  [8/10]

  "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."

• 4. Great Brain at the Academy, The (1972)

  [6/10]

  "The Great Brain at the Academy makes a good contribution to the entire series and sets up the maturation Tom experiences in the later volumes."

• 5. Great Brain Reforms, The (1973)

  [6/10]

  "Fitzgerald . . . captures the essence of growing up as a boy and the complex relationships with parents, peers, and siblings."

• 6. Return of the Great Brain, The (1974)

  [6/10]

  "Although Tom Fitzgerald has supposedly reformed, he continues to use his great brain to wheel and deal -- sometimes to solve a murder, other times to just fatten his pocketbook."

• 7. Great Brain Does It Again, The (1975)

  [5/10]

  "If you have read the other six volumes in the series, you'll still find enough fun here to keep reading this seventh volume, but you probably won't make this the book that you reread."

• 8. Great Brain Is Back, The (1995)

  [5/10]

  "I can only recommend The Great Brain Is Back to absolute fans of the series or people who want to say they have read every book in the series. This eighth volume certainly doesn't stand on its own, but it does let you spend just a little bit longer with these loveable characters."

  Average score: 6.38