Timeless Favorites
When I was in grade school, my favorite time of day was after lunch, when the teacher would read aloud to the class, using stories to reel us in and bridge the gap between the freedom of recess and the calm of afternoon instruction. I'll never forget the sense of anticipation that would come over the classroom when we kids were all settled in our desks and the teacher pulled out The Book. I first became acquainted with some of my most-loved books in those quiet story-times.
My fourth-grade teacher, though otherwise unremarkable, had a gift for choosing books to read aloud. Among the gems he introduced to me was the Great Brain series, by John D. Fitzgerald. These eight delightful volumes are loosely based on the author's childhood in late nineteenth-century Utah, focusing largely on his older brother's exploits. Tom "the Great Brain" Fitzgerald was a con artist of the highest order, and his scheming knew no bounds. To say that he was inventive in his plotting is putting it mildly, and no-one was safe when he selected his next target. His parents, his brothers, his friends, his teachers, and anyone else who crossed his path was fair game in his never-ending quest to get something for nothing.
I sat rapt as Mr. Wassmuth read about Tom's adventures, and I went home imploring my mom to buy me my own copies. I wore the covers off those books reading and re-reading them.
When my daughter started getting old enough to listen to chapter books, I remembered the Great Brain and went looking to replace the volumes I'd long since passed on to other kids. To my dismay, finding them was no easy feat. I scoured bookstores and used-book websites, but had very little luck. Now and again I'd find a copy of one of the books available, but they were always prohibitively expensive, especially once I'd factored in shipping to Sweden. Eventually I gave up the hope of sharing them with my own kids and moved on.
Recently I was reminded of the books again, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to give finding them another go. This time I struck paydirt, discovering that there had been a new printing and all of the books were available on my favorite Swedish bookseller's site. I ordered the first book, The Great Brain, immediately and started reading it to my daughter as soon as it arrived. She was skeptical at first, but by the time we reached the final chapter she was begging me to order the next book. Now we're a couple of chapters into More Adventures of the Great Brain, and we've got number three, Me and My Little Brain on standby. I'm delighted that she's getting to know and love the Fitzgerald brothers just as I did. This time around I'll make sure to hang on to the books so we don't have to worry about tracking them down for future generations.