Welcome to Utah, 1896, and the town of Adenville with its two thousand Mormons and about five hundred of those other people. Three brothers are working life out between them each with the middle name of Dennis due to a family heritage issue. There is Tom D., age ten, Sweyn D., age twelve, and John D., seven going on eight.
This is a humorous collection of stories about how Tom, D., otherwise known as The Great Brain, figures out ways to make money off the unsuspecting children of the town and finds ways to embroil his brothers with each intellectual escapade. There is the time Father ordered the first water closet ever seen in the town and Tom D. gets the brilliant idea of charging kids to peek at it. Putting a water closet inside your house? Isn’t it going to stink?
Wonderful storytelling keeps the action moving and the “wisdom” of The Great Brain is highly entertaining as we wait to see what new plan he has concocted. Will John D. ever be able to outwit him? He gives it a great shot… even contracting the mumps to finally be the first to get sick. With the firm hands and sharp eyes of Mother and Father all around them, the boys experiment in every direction. Great for children who can listen to storytelling and don’t need constant action. Wonderful for children who have that ear for the fun of siblings working things out often in a hilarious way. Ages 7-10
