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.

The adventures of the great brain