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Freddy the Pig #5
The Clockwork Twin: A Freddy the Pig Book on Everything by Walter R. Brooks
Adults, children, and reviewers have embraced the stouthearted Freddy the Pig since he and his Bean Farm chums first appeared in 1927. The Overlook reissues of this classic series-with more than 150,000 hardcover copies sold-have brought these timeless adventures to a whole new generation eager for a good time and a good laugh. As a recent USA Today feature about the Freddy phenomenon noted, the Freddy books brilliantly illustrate the cardinal "fair play and a good sense of humor." In The Clockwork Twin, Freddy reprises his most famous role-as detective!-and Walter Brooks's talking animals rollick through amazing adventures. They talk, dance, sing, joke, and work out intricate problems. When a mechanical double is rigged up by Mr. Bean's brother, Uncle Ben (who is an eccentric inventor), as a friend and playmate for the Beans' adopted boy, Adoniram, a comedy of errors ensues. The Bean Farm animals then decide to look for Adoniram's real-life brother-it's a job for Freddy the detective. Illustrated by Kurt Wiese.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
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About the author
Walter Rollin Brooks
51 books64 followersWalter Rollin Brooks (January 9, 1886 – August 17, 1958) was an American writer best remembered for his short stories and children's books, particularly those about Freddy the Pig and other anthropomorphic animal inhabitants of the "Bean farm" in upstate New York.
Born in Rome, New York, Brooks attended college at the University of Rochester and subsequently studied homeopathic medicine in New York City. He dropped out after two years, however, and returned to Rochester, where he married his first wife, Anne Shepard, in 1909. Brooks found employment with an advertising agency in Utica, and then "retired" in 1911, evidently because he came into a considerable inheritance. His retirement was not permanent: in 1917, he went to work for the American Red Cross and later did editorial work for several magazines, including The New Yorker.
In 1940, Brooks turned to his own writing for his full-time occupation. Walter married his second wife, Dorothy Collins, following the death of Anne in 1952.
The first works Brooks published were poems and short stories. His short story "Ed Takes the Pledge" about a talking horse was the basis for the 1960s television comedy series Mister Ed (credit for creating the characters is given in each episode to "Walter Brooks"). His most enduring works, however, are the 26 books he wrote about Freddy the Pig and his friends.
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Born in Rome, New York, Brooks attended college at the University of Rochester and subsequently studied homeopathic medicine in New York City. He dropped out after two years, however, and returned to Rochester, where he married his first wife, Anne Shepard, in 1909. Brooks found employment with an advertising agency in Utica, and then "retired" in 1911, evidently because he came into a considerable inheritance. His retirement was not permanent: in 1917, he went to work for the American Red Cross and later did editorial work for several magazines, including The New Yorker.
In 1940, Brooks turned to his own writing for his full-time occupation. Walter married his second wife, Dorothy Collins, following the death of Anne in 1952.
The first works Brooks published were poems and short stories. His short story "Ed Takes the Pledge" about a talking horse was the basis for the 1960s television comedy series Mister Ed (credit for creating the characters is given in each episode to "Walter Brooks"). His most enduring works, however, are the 26 books he wrote about Freddy the Pig and his friends.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 25, 2018
Adnoniram R. Smith lives with his (supposed) aunt and uncle, who force the child to do their farm work, horsewhip him, and withhold basic necessities. At the beginning of CLOCKWORK, the Smiths send Adnoniram out in a storm to check the rising river. Rescuing a drowning dog, Adnoniram and the dog are swept down the river on a floating house. Revealing that animals can talk, Georgie marvels at Adnoniram’s resemblance to his boy master, Byram R. Jones. Separated at birth, neither boy knows that he has a twin.
The house runs aground at an abandoned department store, where the castaways revel in material gratification. Adnoniram, Georgie, and Ronald (a rooster the travelers had rescued) meet Freddy the pig and Jinx the cat, also stranded. They move furniture to create individual habitats and freely help themselves to food and toys. (Jinx “had a cupboard full of mechanical mice that he used to wind up and chase for exercise,” p. 38.) When the waters recede, Freddy and Jinx invite their new friends back to the Bean farm. Georgie and Ronald accept, but Adonniram returns to the only home he knows. The Smiths reward his loyalty by beating him, banishing him to the barn, and denying him a towel and washbasin. Under cover of darkness, a group of Bean animals spirit Adnoniram away to the Bean farm, where the childless Beans gladly adopt him.
Published during the Golden Age of POPULAR MECHANICS, CLOCKWORK TWIN (1937) shares the magazine’s exuberant faith in technology. Uncle Ben Bean builds Adnoniram a mechanical playmate, programmed to “run, walk, dance, wrestle, throw a ball” and “yell” (88). (In FREDDY AND THE SPACE SHIP [1953], Uncle Ben builds a space ship that flies animal and human passengers beyond the earth’s atmosphere.) Using Adnorniram as a model, Jinx paints Bertram’s wooden face to look “exactly like Adoniram, even to the three large freckles on the bridge of the nose” (90). The automaton is indistinguishable from a real boy. Because Adoniram, his missing brother Byram, and Bertram look alike, occasions for COMEDY OF ERRORS-like confusion are tripled.
Attempting to recover Adnorinam, the Smiths bring the automaton back to their farm. After injuring themselves beating its wooden body, they admit that they are not related to the child they exploited for years. When Adnorinam is safely in the Bean’s custody, the animals search for his lost brother. The Bean animals and Mrs. Church, a Centerboro matron who appears in many Freddy books, rescue Byram from gypsies, who have enslaved him. Not surprisingly, both brothers have been damaged by adult cruelty. Adnoniram cannot laugh, and Byram fears sleeping in a house. At the end of CLOCKWORK, the Beans and their quirky menagerie have taught the orphans to laugh, enjoy life and trust others.
Despite amusing technological razzle-dazzle and happy ending, CLOCKWORK reads like the dream of an abused child. A starving child might fantasize that he was transported to a place that richly supplied all material needs. Abused children, I have read, sometimes indulge in a Cinderella fantasy, telling themselves that the brutal adults raising them are not their real parents. An abused child might imagine that his body is made of a hard substance impervious to pain or that, like the automaton Byram, he can call for help with an amplified voice.
Bean animals in second Freddy book, FREDDY GOES TO THE NORTH POLE (1930), also rescue abused siblings, whose adult care-givers beat them and tie them to bedposts. Mr. and Mrs. Bean adopt Ella and Everett, though by the time of CLOCKWORK, they have “gone away,” leaving the couple again childless (75). In the earlier book, however, the rescue of abused children is one of many Bean animal adventures. In CLOCKWORK, an abused child is central character, and Brooks describes Adonorinam’s abuse at greater length.
Though the sunlit, nurturing world of the Bean farm ultimately prevails, CLOCKWORK is the darkest, most disturbing Freddy book I have read. Living in an age that accepted corporal punishment, Brooks’s young fans may taken its painful subject matter in stride. As senior citizen, living almost a century later, I love all Freddy books, but cringe at CLOCKWSORK’s depiction of the Smith’s gleeful sadism.
The house runs aground at an abandoned department store, where the castaways revel in material gratification. Adnoniram, Georgie, and Ronald (a rooster the travelers had rescued) meet Freddy the pig and Jinx the cat, also stranded. They move furniture to create individual habitats and freely help themselves to food and toys. (Jinx “had a cupboard full of mechanical mice that he used to wind up and chase for exercise,” p. 38.) When the waters recede, Freddy and Jinx invite their new friends back to the Bean farm. Georgie and Ronald accept, but Adonniram returns to the only home he knows. The Smiths reward his loyalty by beating him, banishing him to the barn, and denying him a towel and washbasin. Under cover of darkness, a group of Bean animals spirit Adnoniram away to the Bean farm, where the childless Beans gladly adopt him.
Published during the Golden Age of POPULAR MECHANICS, CLOCKWORK TWIN (1937) shares the magazine’s exuberant faith in technology. Uncle Ben Bean builds Adnoniram a mechanical playmate, programmed to “run, walk, dance, wrestle, throw a ball” and “yell” (88). (In FREDDY AND THE SPACE SHIP [1953], Uncle Ben builds a space ship that flies animal and human passengers beyond the earth’s atmosphere.) Using Adnorniram as a model, Jinx paints Bertram’s wooden face to look “exactly like Adoniram, even to the three large freckles on the bridge of the nose” (90). The automaton is indistinguishable from a real boy. Because Adoniram, his missing brother Byram, and Bertram look alike, occasions for COMEDY OF ERRORS-like confusion are tripled.
Attempting to recover Adnorinam, the Smiths bring the automaton back to their farm. After injuring themselves beating its wooden body, they admit that they are not related to the child they exploited for years. When Adnorinam is safely in the Bean’s custody, the animals search for his lost brother. The Bean animals and Mrs. Church, a Centerboro matron who appears in many Freddy books, rescue Byram from gypsies, who have enslaved him. Not surprisingly, both brothers have been damaged by adult cruelty. Adnoniram cannot laugh, and Byram fears sleeping in a house. At the end of CLOCKWORK, the Beans and their quirky menagerie have taught the orphans to laugh, enjoy life and trust others.
Despite amusing technological razzle-dazzle and happy ending, CLOCKWORK reads like the dream of an abused child. A starving child might fantasize that he was transported to a place that richly supplied all material needs. Abused children, I have read, sometimes indulge in a Cinderella fantasy, telling themselves that the brutal adults raising them are not their real parents. An abused child might imagine that his body is made of a hard substance impervious to pain or that, like the automaton Byram, he can call for help with an amplified voice.
Bean animals in second Freddy book, FREDDY GOES TO THE NORTH POLE (1930), also rescue abused siblings, whose adult care-givers beat them and tie them to bedposts. Mr. and Mrs. Bean adopt Ella and Everett, though by the time of CLOCKWORK, they have “gone away,” leaving the couple again childless (75). In the earlier book, however, the rescue of abused children is one of many Bean animal adventures. In CLOCKWORK, an abused child is central character, and Brooks describes Adonorinam’s abuse at greater length.
Though the sunlit, nurturing world of the Bean farm ultimately prevails, CLOCKWORK is the darkest, most disturbing Freddy book I have read. Living in an age that accepted corporal punishment, Brooks’s young fans may taken its painful subject matter in stride. As senior citizen, living almost a century later, I love all Freddy books, but cringe at CLOCKWSORK’s depiction of the Smith’s gleeful sadism.
January 30, 2025
As I continue reading through the Freddy the Pig series, I'm encountering a few that I missed as a kid due to my library not having it available. The Clockwork Twin is one of these and I see now why it was not as popular. It's all over the place. Brooks really liked the idea of abused children finding a home with the farm animals, but after a while it gets dull.
Freddy does a little detective work in this one. There is a very silly plot point regarding a wooden boy that does nothing to move the story forward, and frustrated me with how stupid it was. Some harmful stereotypes regarding Roma pop up, and in the end I wasn't even sure what the story was about.
It really read as though Brooks mixed up every idea he ever had and then drew from a bowl to write the next chapter. There was entirely too much about a name starting with R. that is never revealed but is apparently very embarrassing. Overall, not his best work.
Freddy does a little detective work in this one. There is a very silly plot point regarding a wooden boy that does nothing to move the story forward, and frustrated me with how stupid it was. Some harmful stereotypes regarding Roma pop up, and in the end I wasn't even sure what the story was about.
It really read as though Brooks mixed up every idea he ever had and then drew from a bowl to write the next chapter. There was entirely too much about a name starting with R. that is never revealed but is apparently very embarrassing. Overall, not his best work.
July 25, 2021
4.5 Stars
rounded up to 5 Stars.
November 20, 2010
Freddy the Pig was one of my best friends when I was a kid, and now every once in a while I re-read one of the stories about him for old time's sake. Walter R. Brooks wrote them, 27 in all, at the rate of about one a year from 1928-1958, the year of his death. They've all been recently republished in the original format with the wonderful original illustrations by Kurt Wiese. This is not one of the better examples of a Freddy story; my favorites being Freddy the Detective, Freddy Goes Camping, and Freddy and the Ignormus (sic). The last few, written in the 50s, were not up to the standard of the others. The best were written in the 40s. For a while Brooks worked for the New Yorker and was a friend of E.B. White. I've often wondered whether Freddy was an inspiration for Wilbur in Charlotte's Web. Freddy is almost always a fun read, with frequent amusing asides. This one (1937) is about an early version of a robot, a clockwork boy invented on a farm in up-state New York. "...people came out to the farm to see the clockwork boy, and then the New York papers got hold of it and sent photographers to take his picture and reporters to ask him how he liked the United States and what his favorite color was and things like that." Ah, the more things change...
August 12, 2018
"Ladies and gentlemen, friends, humans and animals..."
Walter R. Brooks' fifth Freddy the Pig book, Freddy and the Clockwork Twin (1937) begins when Adoniram, an unhappy and lonely boy "about your age," is sent outside by his unloving and exploiting uncle and aunt to check the river level during a flood, he hears a voice calling "Help," mounts a summerhouse, and rescues a little brown dog clinging desperately to the railing. The dog can speak. His name is Georgie, and he's been swept away on the flooding river from his companion, another boy called Byram who strangely enough looks just like Adoniram. Before Adoniram can carry Georgie back to the riverbank, a large pine tree floating on the flood grabs the summerhouse and carries it off downriver.
As they travel down the flooding river, Georgie cultivates Adoniram's optimism and sense of adventure (the boy's deprived childhood having made him pessimistic): "why don’t you think about how maybe they [all the awful things that may happen] won’t happen? Why don’t you think about nice things that may happen? It doesn’t cost any more." (The Freddy books are full of life wisdom like that.) Soon Georgie and Adoniram rescue a drowning rooster who speaks with a British accent (though he can also "talk American as well as you guys") because he was born as an egg in England but hatched in America. (The Freddy books are full of quirky humor like that.)
The trio finally step from the summerhouse into the window of a flooded department store, where they meet Freddy the pig and his friend Jinx the black cat. The two animals were away from home (the Bean Farm in upstate NY) on a business trip wherein Freddy was trying to figure out how to market his new invention, pockets for animals, when they were trapped by the flood in the department store. For a few days the new friends enjoy living in the store, sleeping on display furniture, playing games, reading books, and eating good food to their heart's content, with Freddy trying to teach Adoniram about jokes and how to laugh (the boy has never encountered anything funny in his grim life). The idyll ends when the flood waters begin receding, people start returning to that part of the city, and the boy and the animals decide to head for the Bean Farm where Freddy and Jinx live with other talking animals, because Freddy knows that Mr. and Mrs. Bean will be happy to adopt Adoniram.
The novel then works out the attempts of the animals and the Beans to adopt Adoniram, a task complicated by the boy's uncle and aunt and by Mr. Bean's inventor brother Uncle Ben's construction of a clockwork boy called Bertram who looks just like Adoniram and requires a small animal engineer like a rooster to control him and speak for him from inside his hollow chest. (This is the first time Brooks plays with sf tropes in the series.) The story also concerns the attempts of the animals to locate Georgie's original boy Byram, a quest complicated by the participation of Boomschmidt's Colossal and Unparalleled Circus (whose uncaged animals help run the show), a generous wealthy woman called Mrs. Church (who has a good sense of humor), some gypsies (who are too conveniently villainous), and Byram himself (who has a phobia of houses).
The novel has plenty of Brooks' varied humor. He writes amusing authoritative sounding aphorisms featuring animals and or people, like the following:
--"Mrs. Wogus [a cow] was inclined to be philosophical. That is, she liked talking without thinking much what she was talking about."
--"Most boys yell more than they talk, especially when they’re playing."
--"Like all cats, and many people, he wasn’t much interested in any kind of work or game that he wasn’t good at."
He writes comical scenes and situations, like Ronald explaining why he keeps his British accent, Ronald's wedding to the daughter of Charles the pompous rooster, Charles sneaking inside Bertram to give a deafening speech, Adoniram's uncle trying to spank Bertram, Uncle Ben trying to perfect an unignorable alarm clock, Freddy attending a meeting of the trustees of an orphanage in disguise (not for the first or last time in the series) as an old lady.
He even writes dialogue fit for a Marx Brothers movie, as in the following conversation between Mr. Boomschmidt, a cow called Mrs. Wiggins, and Leo the lion:
"Well, well, I guess we’ll have to go into conference about this." "Where is that?" said Mrs. Wiggins.
"Oh, dear me, it isn’t a place; it’s a state. Like--what is it like, Leo?"
"Like being in love," said the lion. "Or in difficulties. Or--"
"Now you’re just being confusing," said Mr. Boomschmidt. "Good grief, being in love and being in difficulties--why they’re entirely different."
"Not entirely," said Leo. "But, chief, I was just illustrating--"
"Well, you’re not supposed to illustrate--not when you’re in conference. Now I call the conference to order. Anybody got any suggestions? No? Then what game’ll we play?"
Fans of Freddy the Pig and readers new to the series should enjoy this book, especially if they like well-written, witty stories about talking animals that are underpinned by serious themes about human nature and life and are set in an idyllic rural small-farm New York State. Although Charlotte's Web (1952) has more pathos, the influence of Freddy and the Clockwork Twin on E. B. White's novel is discernable in much of the humor and style, as is evident when comparing two sentences from Brooks' earlier book with the famous last two sentences of White's:
"You hardly ever find a pig who is an expert swimmer, but then you hardly ever find one who is a good detective. Freddy was both."
And then,
"It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."
Walter R. Brooks' fifth Freddy the Pig book, Freddy and the Clockwork Twin (1937) begins when Adoniram, an unhappy and lonely boy "about your age," is sent outside by his unloving and exploiting uncle and aunt to check the river level during a flood, he hears a voice calling "Help," mounts a summerhouse, and rescues a little brown dog clinging desperately to the railing. The dog can speak. His name is Georgie, and he's been swept away on the flooding river from his companion, another boy called Byram who strangely enough looks just like Adoniram. Before Adoniram can carry Georgie back to the riverbank, a large pine tree floating on the flood grabs the summerhouse and carries it off downriver.
As they travel down the flooding river, Georgie cultivates Adoniram's optimism and sense of adventure (the boy's deprived childhood having made him pessimistic): "why don’t you think about how maybe they [all the awful things that may happen] won’t happen? Why don’t you think about nice things that may happen? It doesn’t cost any more." (The Freddy books are full of life wisdom like that.) Soon Georgie and Adoniram rescue a drowning rooster who speaks with a British accent (though he can also "talk American as well as you guys") because he was born as an egg in England but hatched in America. (The Freddy books are full of quirky humor like that.)
The trio finally step from the summerhouse into the window of a flooded department store, where they meet Freddy the pig and his friend Jinx the black cat. The two animals were away from home (the Bean Farm in upstate NY) on a business trip wherein Freddy was trying to figure out how to market his new invention, pockets for animals, when they were trapped by the flood in the department store. For a few days the new friends enjoy living in the store, sleeping on display furniture, playing games, reading books, and eating good food to their heart's content, with Freddy trying to teach Adoniram about jokes and how to laugh (the boy has never encountered anything funny in his grim life). The idyll ends when the flood waters begin receding, people start returning to that part of the city, and the boy and the animals decide to head for the Bean Farm where Freddy and Jinx live with other talking animals, because Freddy knows that Mr. and Mrs. Bean will be happy to adopt Adoniram.
The novel then works out the attempts of the animals and the Beans to adopt Adoniram, a task complicated by the boy's uncle and aunt and by Mr. Bean's inventor brother Uncle Ben's construction of a clockwork boy called Bertram who looks just like Adoniram and requires a small animal engineer like a rooster to control him and speak for him from inside his hollow chest. (This is the first time Brooks plays with sf tropes in the series.) The story also concerns the attempts of the animals to locate Georgie's original boy Byram, a quest complicated by the participation of Boomschmidt's Colossal and Unparalleled Circus (whose uncaged animals help run the show), a generous wealthy woman called Mrs. Church (who has a good sense of humor), some gypsies (who are too conveniently villainous), and Byram himself (who has a phobia of houses).
The novel has plenty of Brooks' varied humor. He writes amusing authoritative sounding aphorisms featuring animals and or people, like the following:
--"Mrs. Wogus [a cow] was inclined to be philosophical. That is, she liked talking without thinking much what she was talking about."
--"Most boys yell more than they talk, especially when they’re playing."
--"Like all cats, and many people, he wasn’t much interested in any kind of work or game that he wasn’t good at."
He writes comical scenes and situations, like Ronald explaining why he keeps his British accent, Ronald's wedding to the daughter of Charles the pompous rooster, Charles sneaking inside Bertram to give a deafening speech, Adoniram's uncle trying to spank Bertram, Uncle Ben trying to perfect an unignorable alarm clock, Freddy attending a meeting of the trustees of an orphanage in disguise (not for the first or last time in the series) as an old lady.
He even writes dialogue fit for a Marx Brothers movie, as in the following conversation between Mr. Boomschmidt, a cow called Mrs. Wiggins, and Leo the lion:
"Well, well, I guess we’ll have to go into conference about this." "Where is that?" said Mrs. Wiggins.
"Oh, dear me, it isn’t a place; it’s a state. Like--what is it like, Leo?"
"Like being in love," said the lion. "Or in difficulties. Or--"
"Now you’re just being confusing," said Mr. Boomschmidt. "Good grief, being in love and being in difficulties--why they’re entirely different."
"Not entirely," said Leo. "But, chief, I was just illustrating--"
"Well, you’re not supposed to illustrate--not when you’re in conference. Now I call the conference to order. Anybody got any suggestions? No? Then what game’ll we play?"
Fans of Freddy the Pig and readers new to the series should enjoy this book, especially if they like well-written, witty stories about talking animals that are underpinned by serious themes about human nature and life and are set in an idyllic rural small-farm New York State. Although Charlotte's Web (1952) has more pathos, the influence of Freddy and the Clockwork Twin on E. B. White's novel is discernable in much of the humor and style, as is evident when comparing two sentences from Brooks' earlier book with the famous last two sentences of White's:
"You hardly ever find a pig who is an expert swimmer, but then you hardly ever find one who is a good detective. Freddy was both."
And then,
"It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."
December 17, 2019
THEY NEVER TELL YOU WHAT THE R STANDS FOR!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2022
I like the Freddy books. They are fun stories with a little adventure and laughable situations. This one did not disappoint.
November 6, 2022
Brooks coming into his own, although I think we're all glad that he'd give up on human children living at the farm. Also, unfortunate section with gypsies.
February 19, 2023
Kiddos didn't like the ending, but they enjoy the books!
July 26, 2023
A thoroughly enjoyable book for younger readers. I enjoyed the pacing and the silly-serious good natured characters and plot.
November 18, 2023
Adorable!
I think this is one of the harder ones to get, I read it on the internet archive.
I think this is one of the harder ones to get, I read it on the internet archive.
April 26, 2020
Not our, the grandchildren in Brazil and their SKYPEing Grandma's favourite Freddy book but still Freddy on a bad day is better than a lot of books out there. We are on the the next; Freddy and the Bean Home News.
June 24, 2015
This isn't my very favorite Freddy book, but I have to say that Freddy on a bad day is grander than most other books on a good day.
February 8, 2013
Hey, I know it's embarrassing but the Freddy the Pig (animal detective) were some of the formative books of my childhood.
January 22, 2015
I liked it. They find a boy who wants a new home so they go to live with Mr. and Mrs. Bean. They make a playmate for him that looks just like him. It can run.
January 22, 2015
I liked it. It was really funny.
March 28, 2015
Very fun read from a series I read as a child. Longer review here: http://eyesandearsblog.blogspot.com/2...
January 24, 2017
Freddy the pig and Andomiram are the main characters. Andoniram wants to find his brother that he has never seen before. Andomiram can not find his brother. So Andoniram and Freddy make signs with an award on them. Then some letters come to them and they find Andoniram's brother.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews