I loved these books as a kid. They told the stories of J.D. Fitzgerald, generally involving his precocious brother, Tom, the "Great Brain" of the title, his other brother Sweyn and their friends. The were set in the fictional town of Adenville around the turn of the century. It was a time when the West was still somewhat wild and the boys have many adventures, including rafting down a river and bringing the sport of basketball to their town.
Tom was generally scheming to make money and it generally got him into trouble. My favorite of the series is The Great Brain at the Academy in which Tom is sent away to boarding school. He gets into quite a bit of trouble there and runs a brisk trade in bootleg candy.
I would recommend these to anyone with young readers. They are great fun to read tell stories that will keep kids interested. For those looking to learn more there is a wonderful website called Finding Fitzgerald as well as a blog of the same name.
Feel free to drop me a line at jeffsemonis@yahoo.com or on twitter @jeffsbookcase.
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