World Famous Comics: The Great Brain at the Academy
The Great Brain at the Academy
By: John D. Fitzgerald Publisher: Dial Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Dial Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 176 Publication Date: June 03, 1985 Reading Level: All Ages
Product Description: 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. Whether it's running an illegal candy store or earning a reputation as the fastest potato peeler in the world or introducing the newfangled sport of basketball at the academy, Tom's great brain never falters. And his money-making schemes rise to new heights--or depths--faced with the challenge of rigorous boarding-school life.
Confusing People! Just plain confusing. In fourth grade I read the book The Great Brain at the academy, I thought it would be a challenge because it was fifth grade level. All of my group members ( 7 people) and I read it. Majority of us said it was boring( 6 people) and one person liked it. It was confusing because at the begening Tom rides the train and controls it then in the middle he plans of making a candy store and tries to make it work and at the end he has a basket ball game which has nothing to do w/ the candy store . You would explain this book like a book that was going on the right track (like maybe a pretty dress) then after too many things get added ( like designers putting too many pathes on it) . The ending of this book should've had Tom making the candy store w/ Father Rodrigues's aprooval. But instead he was in the b-ball game.
One of my childhood favorites! I received the set of Great Brain Books when I was 8-years-old (back in 1978). While all of them are great, this was by far my favorite because Tom pulls off things every kid wishes s/he could. I don't even know how many times I read it as a kid, but it was more than once a year.
This is the story of Tom being shipped off to Catholic School and taking on the Jesuit teachers. He keeps up his swindling ways and finds ways to make school life much more exciting for everyone! My daughter is now enjoying the series, and I can't wait until she gets to this one!
Great Brain is just great "If any of you kids want a bar of candy," Tom said, "it will cost you a dime." "But they are only nickel bars of candy," Rory protested. "That is the price in a store," Tom said. "Ten cents is the price in the academy." Rory was completely flabbergasted as he stared at Sweyn. "What kind of a brother have you got?" he asked. "An eighteen-karat conniver," Sweyn answered.
In this fourth chapter of the Great Brain books, John D. is left behind when Tom joins the oldest brother, Sweyn, at a learning institution. Tom's naturally independent nature, his demand to know the reason that things work as they do, and his self-righteousness combine with his smarts to get him into trouble at the academy. Every time he uses his brain to distinguish himself from his peers, he is slapped back down by the strict staff.
This book distinguishes itself from its predecessors by having a more cohesive storyline than the others. While many of the books involve stand-alone episodes in which Tom employs one scheme or another, this book has far more continuity, as Tom finds himself in an ongoing struggle with the academy administration, led by the harsh Father Rodriguez.
Partially because of this, the chapters deviate from the familiar formula of Tom extracting money from those around him. Instead, he has to use his wits to accomplish other feats, such as unlocking a locked door, for example, when he lacks the key.
This difference is generally a positive one, as we get more and more invested in the story as it develops. We are also treated to the inside of the religious academy, and we really get a sense of its inner workings and how students lived there.
As always, the language is engaging, filled with colloquialisms that are easily understood, even though they are far outdated. The books allow us to see a slice of American history while still being completely accessible to modern children.
Kids will love to place themselves in Tom's shoes, and imagine how they too can put one over on their peers and loved ones.
!!THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ!! this book is full of action about this guy at a school that fools all the monks, smugels candy, and tricks his friends.this book is sugested 4 people with boring lives
I read it until it fell apart When I was in third grade or so, my mother bought a boxed set of the first five Great Brain books for us for Christmas. This one (the fourth in the series) was my favorite; I read it until the pages were so dog-eared that it was almost impossible to slide them back into the box, and then I read it some more until I had it nearly memorized, and then I read it some more until it fell apart.
I still have the books; I ran across them when we moved recently and realized that I need to look for hardcover editions. They are all in bad shape, despite attempts at mending them over the years.
The books are still funny, and they still develop the important critical and analytical thinking skills needed to imagine a different time, place, and way of life.
I think that the books are well suited to the 9-to-12 age range that is usually recommended. Each chapter is typically a separate story, which makes the series ideal for the reader who struggles with longer works. They're officially "boys' books," but the publisher's notion of the primary market segment didn't stop me or my sisters from enjoying them.
(A slightly technical aside: what makes a publisher think of a book as a "boy's book" or a "girl's book" is not just the gender of the main characters (which are all boys here). It's also the style: boys usually buy action-oriented books, and girls usually buy books which invest more time in thought, dialogue, and emotion.
(To give one example of this phenomenon, Bridge to Terabithia, whose main character is a boy, is definitely a girl's book.
(While the Great Brain stories are almost always action-driven, there is a fair bit of thought analysis in these books, so I think they're a little closer to the midpoint of the gender spectrum than the typical "boy's book."
(For example, something will happen, JD (the narrator and the Great Brain's younger brother) will then analyze the situation: if I do this, my friends will think this, Papa will think this, and Mama will think this. If I do this other thing, then everyone except Mama will react this way. So I will do this other thing, and be prepared to give Mama this excuse for what I'm doing.)
I want to add for the sake of those who might have to listen to complaints (e.g., those on school library committees) that various bias and sensitivity organizations which review children's literature have occasionally rated books in this series as racist, sexist, materialist, individualist, and conformist.
That is, the various stories (many of which are at least semi-autobiographical) in the series depict things like:
* the horrible treatment of a new Greek immigrant boy at the hands of the town bully (as well as the silent compliance of most of the boys -- isn't that just like real life?), and the town people's shocking indifference to the welfare of an elderly Jewish man (thus the racist label: people behaved badly at times in the books -- just like they do in real life -- except that here, they're all sorry for it in the end);
* fairly run-of-the-mill girls-have-cooties themes and some historically accurate gender roles (and some historically accurate breaking of gender roles: for example, Mama is a crack shot with a rifle) (thus the sexist label);
* The Great Brain himself is tormented by his Money-Loving Heart and constantly scheming to get more money (thus the materialist label);
* The Great Brain has a me-first attitude (which is partly balanced by actions like whipping the bully for mistreating the immigrant boy) (thus this individualist label); and
* the boys in the story have an informal code of honor (you don't pick on kids younger than yourself, for example) that they all conform to, and social censure is applied by the whole group (none of the other boys will play with you any more if you break the code of honor) (thus the conformist label).
I was thinking of their code of honor the other day when I took a couple of neighborhood girls to the park and witnessed a (completely unsupervised) boy of about eight or ten annoying a couple of preschoolers. It sure made me wish for a time when boys thought that annoying little kids was dishonorable.)
Over all, I think these are excellent books which every child should have the opportunity to read -- and I'm searching now for a complete set of the books in hardback editions.
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