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The Great Brain #4
The Great Brain at the Academy
The Great Brain faces the challenge of life at a strict Catholic boarding school with daring exploits and money-making schemes.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
70 people are currently reading
845 people want to read
About the author
John D. Fitzgerald
42 books164 followersOFFICIAL WEBSITE REFERENCED REPORTS:
John Dennis Fitzgerald was born in Price, Utah, on February 3, 1906, to Thomas and Minnie Melsen Fitzgerald. His father had a pharmacy degree but engaged in a number of business ventures and served on the Price Town Council for four years. John graduated from Carbon High School and at the age of eighteen and left Utah to pursue a career as a jazz drummer. He worked in a variety of occupations during his life, including newspaper reporter for the World-Tribune in New York City, foreign correspondent for United Press, advertising and purchasing agent, and bank auditor. He also served on Wendell Willkie's staff when Willkie was running for president.
At the time his first book, Papa Married a Mormon (1955), was published, he was living in Los Angeles and working as a steel buyer. Fitzgerald had collaborated with his sister, Belle Fitzgerald Empey, to write this book. Her name was not included as coauthor of the book because it was written in the first person. Papa Married a Mormon was very popular and was reprinted in several foreign-language editions, including Chinese. Twice chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, it was also serialized in McCall's Magazine. A sequel, Mamma's Boarding House, appeared in 1958.
Fitzgerald moved to Denver in 1960 where he tried for a short time to make his living as a full-time writer. He later reported that "I quit my job and went to a mountain cabin to make my living writing. I had to sell my jack and a tire to get back to Denver. When I got there I sold my typewriter and swore I would never write again." His wife later bought him another typewriter and he eventually resumed writing.
He had a very successful writing career, publishing more than 500 magazine articles, as well as poetry and songs and two books on writing, The Professional Story Writer and His Art (1963) and Structuring Your Novel: From Basic Idea to Finished Manuscript (1972).
His most successful and widely read novels are the juvenile books in the Great Brain Series. They were loosely based on the adventures of his brother Thomas N. Fitzgerald. Books in this series include: The Great Brain (1967), More Adventures of the Great Brain (1969), Me and My Little Brain (1971), The Great Brain at the Academy (1972), The Great Brain Reforms (1973), The Return of the Great Brain (1974), and The Great Brain Does It Again (1976).
The Great Brain Series has led to one of the most asked questions in Utah literature: "Where is Adenville, Utah?" Adenville is a fictional town created by Fitzgerald, but most readers believe that the geographical setting loosely fits that of a small town in southern Utah.
Fitzgerald and his wife, Joan, moved to Titusville, Florida, in about 1972 where he continued his writing career. He died there May 20, 1988, at the age of 82.
John Dennis Fitzgerald was born in Price, Utah, on February 3, 1906, to Thomas and Minnie Melsen Fitzgerald. His father had a pharmacy degree but engaged in a number of business ventures and served on the Price Town Council for four years. John graduated from Carbon High School and at the age of eighteen and left Utah to pursue a career as a jazz drummer. He worked in a variety of occupations during his life, including newspaper reporter for the World-Tribune in New York City, foreign correspondent for United Press, advertising and purchasing agent, and bank auditor. He also served on Wendell Willkie's staff when Willkie was running for president.
At the time his first book, Papa Married a Mormon (1955), was published, he was living in Los Angeles and working as a steel buyer. Fitzgerald had collaborated with his sister, Belle Fitzgerald Empey, to write this book. Her name was not included as coauthor of the book because it was written in the first person. Papa Married a Mormon was very popular and was reprinted in several foreign-language editions, including Chinese. Twice chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, it was also serialized in McCall's Magazine. A sequel, Mamma's Boarding House, appeared in 1958.
Fitzgerald moved to Denver in 1960 where he tried for a short time to make his living as a full-time writer. He later reported that "I quit my job and went to a mountain cabin to make my living writing. I had to sell my jack and a tire to get back to Denver. When I got there I sold my typewriter and swore I would never write again." His wife later bought him another typewriter and he eventually resumed writing.
He had a very successful writing career, publishing more than 500 magazine articles, as well as poetry and songs and two books on writing, The Professional Story Writer and His Art (1963) and Structuring Your Novel: From Basic Idea to Finished Manuscript (1972).
His most successful and widely read novels are the juvenile books in the Great Brain Series. They were loosely based on the adventures of his brother Thomas N. Fitzgerald. Books in this series include: The Great Brain (1967), More Adventures of the Great Brain (1969), Me and My Little Brain (1971), The Great Brain at the Academy (1972), The Great Brain Reforms (1973), The Return of the Great Brain (1974), and The Great Brain Does It Again (1976).
The Great Brain Series has led to one of the most asked questions in Utah literature: "Where is Adenville, Utah?" Adenville is a fictional town created by Fitzgerald, but most readers believe that the geographical setting loosely fits that of a small town in southern Utah.
Fitzgerald and his wife, Joan, moved to Titusville, Florida, in about 1972 where he continued his writing career. He died there May 20, 1988, at the age of 82.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
April 15, 2024
This was the installment that stuck with me the most when I was a kid. Something about it. It was both foreign ... the idea of a live-in boarding school, and familiar ... kids trying to cope with school.
I have still liked this one the best even though it is contrived in the sense that JD, the youngest brother is "fabricating" the stories by relating them second hand since at this point TD and Sven aren't around JD and JD isn't directly perceiving the events. Though I know all those books are actually fictionalized accounts of Fitzgerald's life so I guess it doesn't really matter that much.
This is the second one with the new narrator and I don't think he does it as well as the first guy, but what can you do...
I have still liked this one the best even though it is contrived in the sense that JD, the youngest brother is "fabricating" the stories by relating them second hand since at this point TD and Sven aren't around JD and JD isn't directly perceiving the events. Though I know all those books are actually fictionalized accounts of Fitzgerald's life so I guess it doesn't really matter that much.
This is the second one with the new narrator and I don't think he does it as well as the first guy, but what can you do...
September 11, 2025
Absolutely delightful!!!
July 22, 2012
I loved these books so much as a child. But I think this one was my favourite because of the way Tom managed to earn so much money selling candy bars.
I'd recommend this series to anyone...young and old.
I'd recommend this series to anyone...young and old.
January 17, 2010
The absolute best of the truly outstanding eight book Great Brain series. Although Adenville is wonderful, T.D.'s adventures with a whole new cast of characters in Salt Lake City, including a group of very cagey (yet caring) priests, are even better.
By the way, if you'd like to see the original cover art for this book (as well as the rest of the book's illustrations), check out www.greatbrain.weebly.com.
By the way, if you'd like to see the original cover art for this book (as well as the rest of the book's illustrations), check out www.greatbrain.weebly.com.
September 4, 2021
It's a bit sad to find this book less enjoyable than the last time I read it. It's cute enough, but after awhile it became very hard to sympathize with Tom. He does improve somewhat, but I was firmly on Father Rodriguez's side almost the whole time. It is a bit unreasonable to punish a kid for showing up with a dirty face, but Tom should have had the sense to just take this first punishment and have it over with. Instead, he can't resist the chance to get the last laugh, and when his potato-peeling scheme backfires he ends up with a worse punishment that he could have easily avoided.
In The Great Brain at the Academy, Tom brings almost all of the problems upon himself and doesn't learn a whole lot from them. On the bright side, I was relieved that he ended up having some appreciation for the longsuffering superintendent after all, even if it wasn't enough to stop illicitly selling candy to his fellow students. But with T.D. Fitzgerald sometimes you just have to take what you can get!
June 21, 2014
Tom gets himself into and out of trouble quite fluently in the fourth book in the Great Brain series. There were quite a few laughs in this one and we really enjoyed it as a family read-aloud.
November 18, 2020
Number four in the Great Brain series, and just as much fun as the others. But this volume is extremely hard to find. If you want a used hardcover copy, it’s $890.00 from Amazon. What??!! Or you can wait another month and buy a paperback from Amazon for $20.00. Or you can buy the Kindle version, or download the ebook from the library for free. Which is what I did. I thought there must be something objectionable about the story, but it’s completely delightful. Tom is off to the Catholic Boys’ Academy in Salt Lake City, where he’s up to his usual shenanigans. It’s run like a prison camp, so Tom writes to the pope to get Father Rodriguez fired. But then he and the priest come to understand each other, and Tom sees a reason for all the rules. Which doesn’t mean he keeps them, however. I’m looking forward to finishing the series, and I plan to buy used hardback copies of them all–except for this one. I don’t have an extra $890.00 rattling around in my pocket.
December 15, 2024
Major points from some of the others I remember, but this one didn’t set off any sparks. I have to have read this before, because I owned the slipcase set of the first five, but this clearly made no lasting impression. It is enjoyable, but the School Story frame made it quite different from the earlier installments. Also, there was some extra storytelling license taken in this book that was not present before. Yes, the storytelling is always going to be a little exaggerated but the seams were hidden artfully, while some here are difficult to overlook.
For example, multiple games were surely conflated at the end. I have a hard time believing that a game is both exciting enough to get the bishop to approve extra-curricular basketball program along with other local schools, while at the same time the last quarter of the game was the losing team (own by sixteen points) running around their half of the court to run out the clock so they can win a bet while losing the game. That sounds like an awful game to watch, and wouldn't become a clarion call for the moral and mental benefits of athletics.
For example, multiple games were surely conflated at the end. I have a hard time believing that a game is both exciting enough to get the bishop to approve extra-curricular basketball program along with other local schools, while at the same time the last quarter of the game was the losing team (own by sixteen points) running around their half of the court to run out the clock so they can win a bet while losing the game. That sounds like an awful game to watch, and wouldn't become a clarion call for the moral and mental benefits of athletics.
August 16, 2019
A great book for boys! This series was a favorite from childhood for all the kids in our family. I remember my teacher and my mom reading them to us, and then re-reading them several times later.
Having read these aloud now myself for homeschool, I was surprised by the mature themes that I didn't remember. I still recommend the books, and think that dealing with these topics through literature is a much safer way to expose kids to the struggles of life than the street/ family/ friends/ news talk that often brings new ideas to their attention. There is also a lot here that kids can relate to and that can be discussed with older children; writing assignment ideas abound. That being said, parents should assess the age, maturity and sensitivity of their children before reading aloud, but especially before assigning the child to read it on their own.
Book 4, The Great Brain at the Academy details Tom's adventures at the Catholic boys academy in Salt Lake City.
Chapters 1 & 2 Cover Tom and older brother Sweyn's journey to the academy. Along the way, Tom exposes a card shark and gets to ride in the engine of the locomotive.
Chapter 3 Tom and the superintendent/ headmaster, Father Rodriguez, Round 1. Father Rodriguez is irritated that Tom got himself so dirty on the way to the academy and Tom is irritated that Father Rodriguez doesn't share his excitement about Tom's ride in the engine of the train. Also covered are Papa's warnings to Father Rodriguez about the Great Brain (via letter) and Tom's concealment of candy that he purchased on the train and intended to sell to the kids even though he knew it was against the rules.
Chapter 4 deals with the routines of the academy and a light initiation of the newest children by the older boys. A boy reports that Tom has candy, but Tom has hidden it away and it is not found on inspection. Tom disciplines the snitch into silence. The chapter ends with Tom's confession and penance.
Chapter 5 Tom is sentenced to peeling potatoes for the demerits he received when he arrived unkempt at the Academy. Bored with the chore, he summons his friends to help. A game of chess ensues between Tom and the Jesuit priests as Tom seeks the aid of his friends without getting caught and the priests try to figure out how Tom is getting the work done so quickly. The initiation of the younger boys by the older continues. Eventually, the priests find the boys out and assign new discipline. Tom is upset by what he perceives to be rigid, unfair, and exploitative treatment of the boys and decides to have a letter to the Pope smuggled out of the Academy.
Chapter 6 Tom opens his illegal candy store. He manipulates his reluctant friends into helping him with the enterprise, and manages to conceal it from the priests.
Chapter 7 Tom fails to get more demerits and other boys are assigned to clean the washroom - which is key to his candy store scheme. So, he has to figure out another way to keep the candy store running. His ingenious method for making a key to the storeroom is clever.
Chapter 8 Tom and his 3 friends raid the kitchen in the middle of the night because Tom hates the liver served for dinner on Thursdays and cannot sleep from being hungry. Eventually they get caught. After Father Rodriguez pronounces discipline, Tom reveals his revulsion to liver and resulting hunger. The priest has compassion on him, orders a different dinner for Tom on Thursdays, and cancels the punishment. Tom sees a different side of Father Rodriguez and wonders if he was wrong about him. The boys are taken to a show in Salt Lake City performed by a mind reader. Tom knows there has to be trick to it and brags to the other boys that his Great Brain can figure out a way to do the act. Tom arranges a bet and wins, but other boys are irritated by his cleverness.
Chapter 9 Tom's enemy arranges for Tom to get demerits, which rack up quickly. Tom has to figure out a way to solve the problem, which he does. Tom returns home and tricks John into doing his chores for the winter break; Papa and Mama try to intervene to save J.D. but Tom outsmarts them.
Chapter 10 Tom is intrigued by JD's new basketball set up that he got for Christmas. Tom returns to the Academy trying to find a way to bring basketball to the boys, when he is confronted with a letter from the POPE! The Father's have saved it for him to open, so they don't know its a form letter. Tom implies that the Pope approves of his basketball scheme. This leads to bets on a game between the 8th and 7th graders, as well as a conflict with the Bishop in which the Bishop outs the form letter. Tom is again brought into confrontation with Father Rodriguez, but this time, Tom repents and acknowledges that his feelings have changed. He now likes and respects Father Rodriguez. Father Rodriguez condescends to call Tom by the nickname he prefers instead of "Thomas" and refuses to expel Tom for his deceit. The book ends with Tom's full confession to the Bishop and reconciliation with Father Rodriguez.
The Great Brain Reforms (The Great Brain #5), Fitzgerald, 1973
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Having read these aloud now myself for homeschool, I was surprised by the mature themes that I didn't remember. I still recommend the books, and think that dealing with these topics through literature is a much safer way to expose kids to the struggles of life than the street/ family/ friends/ news talk that often brings new ideas to their attention. There is also a lot here that kids can relate to and that can be discussed with older children; writing assignment ideas abound. That being said, parents should assess the age, maturity and sensitivity of their children before reading aloud, but especially before assigning the child to read it on their own.
Book 4, The Great Brain at the Academy details Tom's adventures at the Catholic boys academy in Salt Lake City.
Chapters 1 & 2 Cover Tom and older brother Sweyn's journey to the academy. Along the way, Tom exposes a card shark and gets to ride in the engine of the locomotive.
Chapter 3 Tom and the superintendent/ headmaster, Father Rodriguez, Round 1. Father Rodriguez is irritated that Tom got himself so dirty on the way to the academy and Tom is irritated that Father Rodriguez doesn't share his excitement about Tom's ride in the engine of the train. Also covered are Papa's warnings to Father Rodriguez about the Great Brain (via letter) and Tom's concealment of candy that he purchased on the train and intended to sell to the kids even though he knew it was against the rules.
Chapter 4 deals with the routines of the academy and a light initiation of the newest children by the older boys. A boy reports that Tom has candy, but Tom has hidden it away and it is not found on inspection. Tom disciplines the snitch into silence. The chapter ends with Tom's confession and penance.
Chapter 5 Tom is sentenced to peeling potatoes for the demerits he received when he arrived unkempt at the Academy. Bored with the chore, he summons his friends to help. A game of chess ensues between Tom and the Jesuit priests as Tom seeks the aid of his friends without getting caught and the priests try to figure out how Tom is getting the work done so quickly. The initiation of the younger boys by the older continues. Eventually, the priests find the boys out and assign new discipline. Tom is upset by what he perceives to be rigid, unfair, and exploitative treatment of the boys and decides to have a letter to the Pope smuggled out of the Academy.
Chapter 6 Tom opens his illegal candy store. He manipulates his reluctant friends into helping him with the enterprise, and manages to conceal it from the priests.
Chapter 7 Tom fails to get more demerits and other boys are assigned to clean the washroom - which is key to his candy store scheme. So, he has to figure out another way to keep the candy store running. His ingenious method for making a key to the storeroom is clever.
Chapter 8 Tom and his 3 friends raid the kitchen in the middle of the night because Tom hates the liver served for dinner on Thursdays and cannot sleep from being hungry. Eventually they get caught. After Father Rodriguez pronounces discipline, Tom reveals his revulsion to liver and resulting hunger. The priest has compassion on him, orders a different dinner for Tom on Thursdays, and cancels the punishment. Tom sees a different side of Father Rodriguez and wonders if he was wrong about him. The boys are taken to a show in Salt Lake City performed by a mind reader. Tom knows there has to be trick to it and brags to the other boys that his Great Brain can figure out a way to do the act. Tom arranges a bet and wins, but other boys are irritated by his cleverness.
Chapter 9 Tom's enemy arranges for Tom to get demerits, which rack up quickly. Tom has to figure out a way to solve the problem, which he does. Tom returns home and tricks John into doing his chores for the winter break; Papa and Mama try to intervene to save J.D. but Tom outsmarts them.
Chapter 10 Tom is intrigued by JD's new basketball set up that he got for Christmas. Tom returns to the Academy trying to find a way to bring basketball to the boys, when he is confronted with a letter from the POPE! The Father's have saved it for him to open, so they don't know its a form letter. Tom implies that the Pope approves of his basketball scheme. This leads to bets on a game between the 8th and 7th graders, as well as a conflict with the Bishop in which the Bishop outs the form letter. Tom is again brought into confrontation with Father Rodriguez, but this time, Tom repents and acknowledges that his feelings have changed. He now likes and respects Father Rodriguez. Father Rodriguez condescends to call Tom by the nickname he prefers instead of "Thomas" and refuses to expel Tom for his deceit. The book ends with Tom's full confession to the Bishop and reconciliation with Father Rodriguez.
The Great Brain Reforms (The Great Brain #5), Fitzgerald, 1973
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
September 28, 2024
took me a while because school got busy but the great brain ran that academy like the navy the way he got all those boys in line. classic great brain story imo, i loved it
August 10, 2018
The Great Brain at the Academy is the first time we see Tom without the filter or perspective of John, the narrator. John is still narrating (and is dramatic as ever, bless him), but it’s more of a “here’s what happened to Tom at school,” so most of the book is really third-person from Tom’s point of view. And boy, without that filter, it’s a little hard to handle Tom in all his Great Brain glory.
Tom continues to swindle/trick/outsmart his peers out of their money in this installment, and though there’s some moments of maturity, for the most part Tom continues to be as arrogant as ever about his shrewdness. I do like how Fitzgerald has never portrayed the adults as inept or foolish, and how even when Tom pulls the wool over their eyes, there’s always a moment when he goes too far and the adults step in and prove why Tom’s still a kid. That happens here, too, kinda, though it’s shrouded by Tom pretty much saving his school with some quick thinking and clever wordplay.
This is one of the Great Brain books I remember the most, though after this read, I’m not sure I like it as much as I remember. Tom is just a little too much for me to handle by himself, and there’s also a point in the novel where I realized that Fitzgerald had made several mistakes—like placing Rory, the eighth-grader, in the seventh-grade dormitory. There’s also a bit too much of Tom being smug and not enough of him being (rightly) scolded for his actions, though at least he gets caught enough times that it evens out slightly in the end. I like these books, but I can only take so much of Tom’s antics.
The Great Brain at the Academy is a good look at what sort of things Tom would get up to at school, though without the usual narrator to be alongside of him, Tom seems even more smug than usual. There’s a good balance of tricks that work versus tricks that don’t, and some glimmers of maturity showing themselves in Tom, though some of his biggest tricks are never found out. I do like how Fitzgerald points out the difference between Tom using his great brain to help people and using it to help get him money, since that distinction is even clearer in this story. Tom is at his best when he’s being selfless, and at his most annoying when he’s not—a good message, perhaps, but it sometimes doesn’t make for a very enjoyable, or evenly paced, read.
Tom continues to swindle/trick/outsmart his peers out of their money in this installment, and though there’s some moments of maturity, for the most part Tom continues to be as arrogant as ever about his shrewdness. I do like how Fitzgerald has never portrayed the adults as inept or foolish, and how even when Tom pulls the wool over their eyes, there’s always a moment when he goes too far and the adults step in and prove why Tom’s still a kid. That happens here, too, kinda, though it’s shrouded by Tom pretty much saving his school with some quick thinking and clever wordplay.
This is one of the Great Brain books I remember the most, though after this read, I’m not sure I like it as much as I remember. Tom is just a little too much for me to handle by himself, and there’s also a point in the novel where I realized that Fitzgerald had made several mistakes—like placing Rory, the eighth-grader, in the seventh-grade dormitory. There’s also a bit too much of Tom being smug and not enough of him being (rightly) scolded for his actions, though at least he gets caught enough times that it evens out slightly in the end. I like these books, but I can only take so much of Tom’s antics.
The Great Brain at the Academy is a good look at what sort of things Tom would get up to at school, though without the usual narrator to be alongside of him, Tom seems even more smug than usual. There’s a good balance of tricks that work versus tricks that don’t, and some glimmers of maturity showing themselves in Tom, though some of his biggest tricks are never found out. I do like how Fitzgerald points out the difference between Tom using his great brain to help people and using it to help get him money, since that distinction is even clearer in this story. Tom is at his best when he’s being selfless, and at his most annoying when he’s not—a good message, perhaps, but it sometimes doesn’t make for a very enjoyable, or evenly paced, read.
July 5, 2012
For some reason, my husband read very few books as a child. This makes me so sad! So I coaxed him into reading this to me bit by bit every night. It's one of my favorite MG books, which follows the hijinx of Tom D. Fitzgerald, a boy genius with a money-loving heart who gets into all sorts of trouble at a boys academy in the late 1800s.
I really enjoy Tom's schemes to run a forbidden candy store, his outwitting punishments for "bad" behavior, and the way he figures out a magician's mind-reading tricks and uses it to his advantage. This is my favorite book of the series, although I've yet to read the last Great Brain book that was published after the author's death.
Always enjoy rereading this one immensely. :)
I really enjoy Tom's schemes to run a forbidden candy store, his outwitting punishments for "bad" behavior, and the way he figures out a magician's mind-reading tricks and uses it to his advantage. This is my favorite book of the series, although I've yet to read the last Great Brain book that was published after the author's death.
Always enjoy rereading this one immensely. :)
April 19, 2011
this book is an excellent book as the fouth book in the series. i have read it many times and certainly will again. the story line is engaging and exciting with every page. in it the great brain is away from home at a jesuit boys' school, where he finds ways to bring the boys candy and make some money--as well as eat candy--himself. truly an enjoyable book and a read-again
April 20, 2011
Among all of John D. Fitzgerald's Great Brain books, this is probably my favorite--it was the first one in the series that I read. The next book, The Great Brain Reforms, is a very close second.
When I was a kid I never thought I'd be interested in a story that took place at the turn of the 20th century, but this book proved me wrong.
When I was a kid I never thought I'd be interested in a story that took place at the turn of the 20th century, but this book proved me wrong.
September 22, 2009
This particular entry in the series had special meaning. As a fellow graduate of more years of Catholic school than I can count, Tom's adventures in a Jesuit-run school for boys really make me smile. Very funny!
May 23, 2012
This one was definitely my favourite of the series. I don't even know how many times I checked this out from my local library as a child, it was delah.
November 21, 2008
Probably one of my favorites out of the series, I still remember (and this has been at least 20 years since I read it) many of the details. Great series of books, little known though.
April 30, 2009
All of the Great Brain books are charming, delightful stories to read to your kids. Very cleverly thought out and written. Fun reads.
This particular one is my favorite of them all.
This particular one is my favorite of them all.
October 25, 2022
I really enjoy these books and the look back in time. This one was took place in SLC at the Catholic Boys' Academy before the turn of the century.
January 22, 2011
I love this series, and this one has always been my favorite in the set. Tom's adventures away from home are excellent.
April 1, 2011
If you thought the priests could reform The Great Brain, think again! Like the other books in the series this is a must read and cannot put down.
December 1, 2024
I’ve enjoyed this series since I was a kid and this is probably my favorite one.
July 28, 2012
Everything I know about Jesuit priests I learned from this book.
January 14, 2023
Good nostalgic fun. For some reason, this specific installment of the Great Brain series has stuck in my own regular quality brain for decades -- it's the only episode in which the majority of action doesn't take place in the Fitzgerald family's lightly fictionalized town of Adenville, but rather in a Catholic boarding school in Salt Lake City. Something about that environment, and especially the story of sneaking out by climbing down a rope to buy candy and sell it to other children at a mark-up stuck in my brain and has somehow turned into my internal go-to metaphor for arbitrage.
Definitely a children's book, but the good-hearted, well-intentioned swindling is consistently amusing. The style is instantly recognizable because for some reason it uses almost no contractions.
Definitely a children's book, but the good-hearted, well-intentioned swindling is consistently amusing. The style is instantly recognizable because for some reason it uses almost no contractions.
November 6, 2017
If you like funny or weird books, than The Great Brain Books are for you. There are at least five or six, and they are all individual stories, so it doesn't matter when you read any of them. The Great Brain at the Academy is especially great because it shows how kids think in different situations and how they react to events. The books will make you have mixed feelings for the characters and the events they experience. Overall, great easy book.
February 13, 2018
Good book which shows character
The book was enjoyable, as are all The Great Brain books. There is conniving, unpunished crime, and Tom saying something isn't a sin which is (fooling a priest and breaking rules) making me recommend it to ten year olds and up. Than again I do think that for most children this book would be more delightful, interesting, and beautiful than Huckleberry Finn.
The book was enjoyable, as are all The Great Brain books. There is conniving, unpunished crime, and Tom saying something isn't a sin which is (fooling a priest and breaking rules) making me recommend it to ten year olds and up. Than again I do think that for most children this book would be more delightful, interesting, and beautiful than Huckleberry Finn.
June 4, 2024
Everyone knew that Tom Fitzgerald, alias The Great Brain, would get into trouble when he went off to school at the strict Catholic Academy for Boys in Salt Lake City. But no one--including Tom--knew just how much. His tongue got him into fifteen demerits worth of difficulty the very first day, but his great brain refused to be defeated as Tom set out to outwit the eighth grade, the superintendent, and finally the bishop of the state of Utah
December 27, 2022
This was one of my favorite series as a kid, and it holds up surprisingly well. This one is a self-contained boarding school story which hits that "kids sneaking around having adventures at school" vibe. Watching Tom continue to pull one over on everyone around him is fun, but he seems to have some legit character development in this one too.
July 12, 2025
4.5 Probably my favorite in the Great Brain series (I read 3-6 before reviewing them)
I didn't expect to enjoy it so much, since JD isn't really in it, but I liked hearing about Tom's shenanigans when he has more than a small town. I liked the new characters even though they weren't that fleshed out, and was sad that they don't really come back.
I didn't expect to enjoy it so much, since JD isn't really in it, but I liked hearing about Tom's shenanigans when he has more than a small town. I liked the new characters even though they weren't that fleshed out, and was sad that they don't really come back.
September 9, 2020
This is one of the ones I had as a kid. Still love it on re-reading decades later. Especially enjoyed the interactions between Tom and Father Rodriguez.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews