THE GREAT BRAIN

PRESENTS:

THE GREAT BRAINby John D. FitzgeraldAN INTRODUCTION

The Great Brain is the first in a series of books written by John D. Fitzgerald.The books are considered humorous historical fiction, and the author based them on his own life and family, growing up in Utah.The Great Brain

The Great Brain has lots of funny situations that kids still enjoy reading about today, such as:Being the first kid in town to get an indoor toilet!Going skinny-dipping in the local pond!Getting lost in a deadly maze-like cave!And trying to get rid of an evil teacher!Plot Lines

John Dennis Fitzgerald(1906 - 1988) was an American author. He was born February 3, 1906 in Price, Utah, the son of a Irish Catholic father and a Scandinavian Mormon mother.

John D. Fitzgerald

In The Great Brain, the stories take place in a fictional southern Utah town called Adenville which is west of Cedar City.The stories also begin before John was born, starting in the year 1897, the year which Utah became a State.

Adenville, Utah

Basketball had been invented 5 years earlier.Moving pictures had just been invented 2 years before.Utah Becomes the 45th U.S. State in 1896.X-Rays were discovered, and the first x-ray taken.Coca-Cola started being sold in bottles 3 years before.Radio or Wireless Telegraph had been invented 2 year before.First Modern Olympic Games, was played.The Roller Coaster was patented two years later.1896

John had five siblings growing up, and his two older brothers, Sweyn and Tom, appear as characters in his novels.At the beginning of the story, Sweyn is twelve years old, Tom is ten; and John is eight.

The Fitzgeralds

The middle brother Tom is called The Great Brain because he spends his free time reading Almanacs and Encyclopedias.But he only uses his knowledge to get rich, often by creating cunning schemes to cheat or swindle John and his friends out of their hard-earned money.The Great Brain

The Great Brain is very much like Mark Twains Tom Sawyer with adventures, stories of frontier life, childrens games and school work depicted.In addition, the book deals with the subtle tensions between Catholics and Mormons, with several conversations in the books dealing with those differences.Since John grew up with a Catholic father and Mormon mother, he probably used instances from his own life.The Great Brain as Fiction

The Great Brain(1967)More Adventures of the Great Brain(1969)Me and My Little Brain(1971)The Great Brain At The Academy(1972)The Great Brain Reforms(1973)The Return of the Great Brain(1974)The Great Brain Does It Again(1976)The Great Brain Is Back(Published in 1995 from loose notes after the author's death)

The Great Brain series

In 1978, the Osmond Family decided to make a movie of the first book. Called The Great Brain it starred Jimmy Osmond as Tom, and was filmed in Utah.Well be watching this movie at the end of the year!The Great Brain: The Movie

The EndA Nutsy the Squirrel ProductionCopyright MMXII Oak Hills Media CenterAll Rights Reserved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Fitzgeraldhttp://www.findingfitzgerald.com/http://mldb.byu.edu/94/godfrey.htmBibliography

Richard Markowitz / The Wild Wild West Various Artists100 Greatest TV Themes (Disc 4), track 222002Soundtrack286609.53