![]() ![]() Narrator John explains the middle names of the Fitzgerald boys with a story of a betrayal that occurred in his family in County meath Ireland over two hundred years ago. And yes, these books are loosely autobiographical. The Fitzgerald family, part of the 500 non-Mormons in a town of 2,500, is made up of Mamma, Papa, Aunt Bertha (who is not a blood relation) and brothers Sweyn Dennis, Tom Dennis and John Dennis. ![]() The Great Brain begins in 1896 in Adenville, Utah and, much like the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, is fascinating for the glimpse into a not-too-distant history that it offers. Sadly, only the first three books in the series are in print today, but I highly recommend tracking down all seven if you can. Upon rereading The Great Brain as an adult, I found it just as funny, suspenseful and hard to put down as I did when I was a kid. I read all seven of the books in Fitzgerald's series (an eighth, The Great Brain is Back, was published in 1995 after the author's death using notes left by Fitzgerald) as a child and still mourn the fact that they did not make it to adulthood with me. ![]() ![]() While the writing is vivid, Mayer's pictures bring the story to life. Although I didn't read Wilder's books until I was an adult and reading them out loud to my daughter, I am sure that as a child I was predisposed to like The Great Brain books because of my familiarity and love of Mercer Mayer's illustrations. First published in 1967, The Great Brain by John D Fitzgerald is a wonderful counterpart to Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |