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Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780142400654
ISBN number: 0142400653
Label: Puffin
Manufacturer: Puffin
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 160
Printing Date: February 09, 2004
Publishing house: Puffin
Age index: Ages 9-12
Sale Popularity Level: 7792
Studio: Puffin
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Product Description:
Has Tom Jenkins, a.k.a. the Great Brain, given up his con-artist ways for a bicycle? Not for long. Soon the Great Brain is back to his old tricks, swindling and trading, even convincing the whole town there’s a prehistoric monster on the loose. But when someone robs the bank, even the police are stumped. Can the Great Brain solve the crime and put the crooks behind bars?
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Rated by buyers 
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The Great Brain series was my favorite as a child and are now my son's favorite. The only difficulty is tracking down all the books at a reasonable price. These books need to be republished and introduced to generations to come. Fantastic books!!
Rated by buyers 
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Book was in condition specified. I was very satisfied with my purchase. It arrived quickly.
Rated by buyers 
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I greatly enjoyed this Great Brain series, both when I was a kid and still today. This book, however, was probably my least favorite in the series. It really is probably not going to have a good impact on a child's moral character. That said, it is fun to read now, as it gives one great insights into what Utah was like 120 or so years ago. I also enjoy reading about the Great Brain's escapades, most of which are rather humerous. The Great Brain is almost the villian of this series as well as its hero. It is very often mentioned that he has a "money loving heart," and Fitzgerald makes it rather clear that he does not usually approve of his brother's actions, while admiring his brains at the same time.
Overall grade: B+
Rated by buyers -
All summer I have been reading the Great Brain books that took place in Adenville, Utah in 1896. I liked the story in More Adventures of the Great Brain where the great brain makes the whole town believe that there is a monster in a place called Skeleton Cave. He did this because his friend Parley got a bowie knife for Christmas. Tom ( the Great Brain ) wanted Parley's knife, so Tom bet Parley his bb gun against Parley's knife that Parley would be too scared to meet Tom at Skeleton Cave at midnight the subsequent night.
That night Tom made tracks that looked like monster footprints from Skeleton Cave to the river and back to the cave. The subsequent day somebody saw the footprints and told the sheriff. Nobody was allowed to leave their houses until the monster was caught. Tom sneaked out of his house and went down to Skeleton Cave at midnight. Parley did not dare leave his house because of the monster. And he had to give his knife to Tom who usually gets money or toys when doing one of his swindles.
The reason that I like these books is because all of them are adventures and they are true.
Nathan D., age 12
Rated by buyers 
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Once again, the young narrator J.D. relates the adventures of his natural born con artist brother Tom, aka the Great Brain.
A hundred years after this series takes place, the writing that makes this series live and breathe is still in full force. The authentic details that flesh out life in the small town of Adenville, Utah are great touches and elevate the story above similar tales that take place in the present. The series also banks on the realistic and lovable main characters, especially John D. and Tom himself.
Despite all that, I have to say that this is the weakest of the Great Brain books. Tom's adventures are more grandiose than in the others, and I think that the series is more comfortable when Tom is operating within the realm of his peers, rather than conning the entire town on a big scale. He creates a stir when he convinces the entire town that a monster walks among them at night, and later in the book seeks to capture a ghost that has scared him and the other children away from an old mine. These episodes are just a little less fun than when Tom is conning quarters and dimes from the other kids.
Another chapter that I had a problem with was "The Taming of Britches Dotty," which is so demeaning toward women that I think it would actually be harmful for any child who reads it. Britches Dotty is essentially a rough and tumble cowgirl whom Tom "tames" by teaching her to wear pretty dresses and "act like a girl." He also teaches her to read and write, so it's not like the chapter couldn't work with some revision, but the notion that girls have to dress nicely, act demurely, and look pretty is so out of touch that the chapter should be altered or removed before it's given to a child.
But these books are episodic, and I do have to say that, on the positive side, this book has one of the best episodes in the entire series, which is when Papa and the boys get hopelessly lost among the local canyons, with Papa despairing that they will make it out alive.
There is also a touching chapter about the boys heading up a funeral for a local dog.
Mercer Meyer's detailed sketches are absolutely wonderful, with lots of detail and shading, and characters that retain some of their cartoonishness even as they look real.
This is a terrific series, and everyone who reads it will enjoy it.
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