Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics) (Paperback)

by Frank B. Gilbreth (Author), Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (Author) "Dad was a tall man, with a large head, jowls, and a Herbert Hoover collar..." (more)
Key Phrases: white typewriter, touch system, assistant chairman, Aunt Anne, New York, Foolish Carriage (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Instructive, funny, and very readable." -- School Library Journal

Always entertaining, occasionally hilarious, occasionally touching....Sound Americana. -- Saturday Review of Literature

Gay and lighthearted...One of the most amusing books. -- The Chicago Sun-Times

Review
"Instructive, funny, and very readable." (School Library Journal )

"Gay and lighthearted...One of the most amusing books." (The Chicago Sun-Times )

"Always entertaining, occasionally hilarious, occasionally touching....Sound Americana." (Saturday Review of Literature )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (May 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006008460X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060084608
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #218,601 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the funniest family books ever, April 9, 2001

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Cheaper by the Dozen (A Bantam starfire book) (Paperback)

I used to giggle over this book as a kid. It was a huge hit amongst my classmates, and we wore through several copies of Cheaper By the Dozen.

The Gilbreth family of 12 kids, parented by efficiency experts Lillian and Frank, were a bit eccentric and very funny. I still can remember the line one of the kids rapped out to a guest at dinner "Please, we are NOT in the mood for an organ recital." This was the standard reprimand for belching in the family and never intended for public airing.

The Gilbreths were actually serious innovators of efficiency for the new factory assembly lines, figuring out the number of movements needed to complete a task and establishing a unit of work movement called the Therblig. They were also warm, funny, loving parents and their story is a good one to read out loud to kids, who invariably love this book.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A neccesary and very funny read......, December 12, 2001

By	Barbara "Queen of her castle AND her home lib... (beautiful Charleston, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cheaper by the Dozen (A Bantam starfire book) (Paperback)

The first thing I have to say about this book is that it's funny and will make the reader understand how a super large family really can make it financially.
I read this book the first time because it was required in junior high (now known as middle school). I just read it again with my teenage daughters to maybe bring some understanding to them about saving time and money and that time is money. This father is the king of creative spending and overlapping chores to save time.
A very enjoyable book to read. This is an excellent book to co-read with your children of any age and might help you get a few frugal points accross to them.
It's a comical read laced with some very neccesary ideas of financial knowledge.
This is a quick book to read, and in my case a shared time of family financial understanding. Don't pass up reading this fun book. It'll make you laugh and think..."That's a good idea." reading about dad's fanatical penny pinching ways.
A great story that everyone should read.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Cheaper By The Dozen", October 16, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Cheaper by the Dozen (Paperback)

Has a story been so good that it made you laugh out loud? Well Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carry wrote an excellent biography of their childhood titled, "Cheaper by the Dozen." It is a very funny book. It is full of all the adventures the Gilbreth family went throgh in the first two decades of the 20th century.

Can you imagine having to take care of 12 kids and a dog? That would be a pretty hard job. I love reading this book especially when their father (Mr. Gilbreth) was teaching the kids Morse code. All over the house on every wall was Morse code. The kids had to find out what they said. Some would say, "Go to my room and under my bed is a deck of cards."

I encourage any one who loves non-fiction biography to read this book. I am sure you will like it too. If you don't like it in the beginning you should stick with it because it gets extremely good at the end.