Cheaper by the Dozen
Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr.
180 pages, reading time:
Back cover reads: Back in the days when the "horseless carriage" was a novelty, there were twelve red-headed Gilbreth children, and they had more fun than a traveling circus. They lived in a great, big, wonderful house in the country, with all kinds of pets, a large, gray Pierce-Arrow that Dad Gilbreth called "Foolish Carriage."
Whenever Dad took the family for a ride, someone was sure to ask, "How do you feed all those kids?"
And Dad would reply: "Well, you know they come cheaper by the dozen."
Initial Reaction: I'm already charmed, and I'm only 6 pages in. I feel like this is going to be a heartwarming story. Ok. I'm about 60 pages in, and the 2003 movie is absolutely RUBBISH compared to the book. I really enjoyed the first half of the book or so, where Dad seemed to be a great head of the household- regimented and strict, but still affectionate toward his children. In the last half of the book, the affection and caring seems to wane, and his character seems to change from a loving father to a barking overseer. I don't like that. Dad and Mother start off as a pretty solid team at the beginning of the book, with Mother tolerating most of the ridiculousness. Towards the end of the book, Dad disregards some of the things that she says, and she ends up ignoring him because of it. I really don't like that, either. The middle of the book dragged a little bit, and I grew weary of the severity of Dad's barking, but once you hit the chapters about him dealing with his first few daughters hitting their teens, it is hilarious. I feel like the book ended super abruptly, but I also feel like the author didn't want to dwell much on the events surrounding the death of his father.
Promote Virtue? Yes. Dad strives to raise well behaved, intelligent, and efficient children. They way he goes about it is a little difficult to deal with if you're a reader who didn't have strict parents, or if you're a snowflake raising snowflakes. I can really relate to dad's thoughts on efficiency. He wanted to find the laziest man on the job, because he knew the guy would do his job the quickest. That's how I feel. I'm not lazy, I'm efficient. Well, I am lazy. But I want to find the quickest and best way to do something. Dad's parenting methods are a little weird, but he is a loving father and husband who models great virtue for his family.
Transcendentals? Dad loves goodness and truth. There's really not much to do with beauty in the book.
Overcome human condition? Dad teaches his kids to be respectful and overcome their faults. He also tries hard to overcome his. That really isn't the focus of the story though. It's just a story about an eccentric dad and his weird ways.
Attitude toward Catholicism? "Dad's theories ranged from Esperanto, which he made us study because he thought it was the answer to half the world's problems, to immaculate conception, which he said wasn't supported by available biological evidence" (126). It's not a matter of science. It's a matter of Faith. It's also a mystery that our wee little 10 percents can't really handle that well.
Paganry? Nope
Swearing? Mild- a few damns. I like how the author self-censors any real cursing, but he does allow 2 G-Ds to get in there and JC in there. What the heck?!
Violence? Nope
Appropriate age? This would definitely be a fun read-aloud with age 7+ plus, there's nothing really too harmful in it that I would glide over. The vocabulary is easy enough for a curious 3rd or 4th grader.
Writing Style: Gilbreth writes in a snappy, honest, and humorous style that keeps the reader interested. It really just depends on how long the reader can tolerate Dad's antics. I started getting a little put off in the last 3rd of the book, but was satisfied again with the last few chapters when the humor returned.
Notable Quoteables:
"And when we'd throw our arms around him and tell him how we'd missed him, he would choke up and wouldn't be able to answer. So he'd rumply our hair and slap our bottoms instead" (6). dawwww.
"Dad seldom swore. an occasional 'damn,' perhaps, but he believed in setting a good example. Usually he stuck to such phrases as 'by jingo' and 'holy Moses'" (10). HE uses Holy Moses?! I use Holy Moses!!
"He screamed, as if he had been saving this oath since his wedding day for such an occasion" (11). bahahah.
" 'What do only children do with themselves,?' we'd think" (24).
"The first thing you'd do is fire the red-headed unprintable son of a ruptured deleted who tried to get your job" (26). I love this kind of self-censorship. bahahahahah
"Dad said he believed in God, but that he couldn't stand clergymen [...] Dad told Mother that the only church he'd even consider joining was the Catholic Church. 'That's the only outfit that would give me some special credit for having such a large family,' he said. 'Besides, most priests whom I have know do not appear to be surreptitious pinchers'" (50). Not quite sure how I feel about this part.
At first, I'm all:
Then, I'm all: Meh. He's human. We'd want to have him in the Church.
"To be efficient, in the Gilbreth family, was a virtue on a par with veracity, honesty, generosity, philanthropy, and tooth-brushing" (65). Heh
"I'd a lot rather raise wallflowers than clinging vines or something worse. The next thing I know you'll be wanting to paint" (155). Dad is arguing with the girls about the changes in fashion (Edwardian fashion to Jazz Age fashion). I do particularly agree with this statement, but not just in regards to fashion. I want my future sons-in-law to appreciate my daughters in their entirety, external and internal beauty, and not just be obsessed with how attractive they are. (Proverbs 31:30). A girl or woman should never define herself by a man's opinion of her. Her definition is a beloved daughter of the Father who was beautifully and wonderfully made. I want to raise girls who will recognize and appreciate a man (like their father) who acknowledges the worth she already has instead of attempting to define it by his own selfish tastes. A man like that is worth waiting for. Mine was. I also want to raise young men who can recognize the dignity and worth of a woman and wait to receive her as gift.
"It used to be that a father promised his son a gold watch if he didn't smoke until he was twenty-one. Now the kids get a raccoon coat as a matter of routine if they manage to stumble through high school" (159). Yeah. This is a great commentary on the state of "positive reinforcement" in education these days, and this took place in the early 1900s. It's just ridiculous.
"If he 'pops' me, I'll pop him" (161). This book reeks of my father-in-law and his father. I'm pretty sure they loved this book.
"He looks like what might happen if a pigmy married a barber pole" (162). LMAO!!!!
"Some simpleton with pimples in his voice wants to speak to Ernestine" (167). BAHAHAHAH!
Great words:
ominously, supplication, extricate, livid, fraught, menacingly, revel, unamenable, averted, qualms,
Final Summation:
Overall, this book helps me understand my husband and his father quite a bit more. It's a good story about a man who is trying to be fully who he is while using his gifts for his family's sustenance and formation. I do like it, but it doesn't make me giddy. It did make me guffaw and belly laugh a few times, though. Books rarely do that for me.. It's also one that my husband really loves, so it's
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