The Return of the Great Brain (Great Brain #6) [Paperback]

John D. Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Tom Fitzgerald, alias The Great Brain, is back, struggling to stay reformed now that his friends have threatened to ostracize him if he puulls even one more swindle. But his brother J.D. knows Tom's reformation is too good to be true, and as a reformed Great Brain makes for a dull life, J.D. is not altogether unhappy--or blameless--when his brother's money-loving heart stealthily retums to business as usual.



Under the watchful eyes of parents and friends, Tom has to be craftier than ever, and indeed he is. Whether he's cleverly pulling an out-and-out swindle so as not to be caught or solving a train robbery and murder, Tom's Great Brain never fails.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Tom Fitzgerald, alias The Great Brain, is back, struggling to stay reformed now that his friends have threatened to ostracize him if he puulls even one more swindle. But his brother J.D. knows Tom's reformation is too good to be true, and as a reformed Great Brain makes for a dull life, J.D. is not altogether unhappy--or blameless--when his brother's money-loving heart stealthily returns to business as usual.

Under the watchful eyes of parents and friends, Tom has to be craftier than ever, and indeed he is. Whether he's cleverly pulling an out-and-out swindle so as not to be caught or solving a train robbery and murder, Tom's Great Brain never fails.

From the Inside Flap

Tom Fitzgerald, alias The Great Brain, is back, struggling to stay reformed now that his friends have threatened to ostracize him if he puulls even one more swindle. But his brother J.D. knows Tom's reformation is too good to be true, and as a reformed Great Brain makes for a dull life, J.D. is not altogether unhappy--or blameless--when his brother's money-loving heart stealthily retums to business as usual.



Under the watchful eyes of parents and friends, Tom has to be craftier than ever, and indeed he is. Whether he's cleverly pulling an out-and-out swindle so as not to be caught or solving a train robbery and murder, Tom's Great Brain never fails.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (August 15, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440459419
• ISBN-13: 978-0440459415
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #573,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John D. Fitzgerald is the author of seven Great Brain books. He died in Florida, his home of many years, at the age of eighty-one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What was old is new again, March 28, 2011

By 

Mike Valmike - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Return of the Great Brain (Great Brain #6) (Paperback)

I first read The Great Brain series in grade school. I recently came across a few of them and used Amazon to track down the rest, since books 4, 5, 6, and 7 are out of print. The Return of the Great Brain, Book 6 in the series, picks up in the wake of Tom's reformation at the end of book 5. We watch as Tom has to take his scams to the next level so the entire town of kids doesn't realize they are still being swindled. Will he pull it off? Read it and find out!

An adult can read each book in this series in perhaps an hour or two, since they are such easy reads and work as chapter-books for youth. The stories are more well-crafted than I originally gave them credit for being. Fitzgerald really pulled it off: The perspective and subtext of the stories changes entirely for an adult reader, who can see shades of meaning that the kids will miss, without missing the fun and adventure that the kids love most. Fitzgerald's verisimilitude and rock-solid structure make this possible, while his sense of life and authenticity makes it a pleasant read from cover to cover.

It's a shame the only books currently in print (as of this writing) are The Great Brain (1), More Adventures of (2), Me and My Little Brain (3), and The Great Brain is Back (8), which was a posthumous epilogue put together from the author's notes after his death. The four books that are out of print are easily the best four in the series: The Great Brain at the Academy (4), The Great Brain Reforms (5), Return of (6), and The Great Brain Does it Again (7). Fortunately, there seem to be a good number of these in circulation. Grab them while you can, and hopefully some publisher settles up with the Fitzgerald estate so the rest can survive for the next generation of kids.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, October 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Return of the Great Brain (Great Brain #6) (Paperback)

The Return of the Great Brain is a excellent book to read!!! Tom ( the great brain ) is on trial. He has to reform.Tom uses his brain to solve a train robbery,to get a jackass, and many other things. Read The Return of the Great Brain to find out what happens!

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great book!, October 12, 2011

By 

Grey Ghost - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Return of the Great Brain (Great Brain #6) (Paperback)

I loved this book, and can highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good old fashioned story. The whole series is just magical!