Cheaper by the Dozen
by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
Published: 1948
Genres: Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction
Format: Paperback (224 pages)
Source: Library
What do you get when you put twelve lively kids together with a father -- a famous efficiency expert -- who believes families can run like factories, and a mother who is his partner in everything except discipline? You get a hilarious tale of growing up that has made generations of kids and adults alike laugh along with the Gilbreths in Cheaper by the Dozen.
Cheaper by the Dozen is a charming story about a dad full of personality and how he raises his twelve kids. The dad is witty, blunt, sarcastic, slightly over protective, eccentric and a little strict. The father is what really makes this story because it was delightful to read about him. There’s some back story about the dad and my favorite story from his childhood was when he was talking to a brick foreman about how to do things more efficiently and no matter how much the foreman threatens and swears at him, he carries on about his ideas without missing a beat.
I admired the way he parented his children. He always had them learning things by turning them into games. He plays jokes on the kids and has a lot of fun with them. He was such a bad driver that the kids voluntarily became look outs. Even though he was a really strict dad and never dreamed of bending the rules, he knew when to show them extra love, too. The story of the roller skates was such a touching story of teaching his kids a lesson but in a loving way.
As much as I enjoyed all of the stories about the family, I thought the father was a little too eccentric and strict until I read the ending. The ending was so beautiful and not at all what I expected. The father is adamant about saving time when doing even the smallest tasks. I think he would have been a huge fan of life hacks. People would ask him “But what do you want to save time FOR?” It was a reminder how precious time is and to spend as much of it with your family as you can.
Overall, it was a charming story about his dad and his eccentric ways of raising a family that had a beautiful message and ending.
Content Rating: None. Clean read.
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About Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Ernestine Moller Gilbreth, Mrs. Carey (April 5, 1908 – November 4, 2006) was an American author.
Born in New York City, she was the daughter of Lillian Moller Gilbreth and Frank Bunker Gilbreth, early 20th-century pioneers of time and motion study and what would now be called organizational behavior.
The upbringing of the twelve Gilbreth children was chronicled in the successful, comic memoir Cheaper by the Dozen (1948, adapted in a 1950 film). The book, as well as a sequel, Belles on Their Toes (1952), was written by Carey with one of her younger brothers, Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
About Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. (March 17, 1911 – February 18, 2001) was co-author, with his sister Ernestine, of Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes. Under his own name, he wrote Time Out for Happiness and Ancestors of the Dozen.
He was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, the 5th child (and first boy) of the 12 children born to efficiency experts Frank Gilbreth, Sr. and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and grew up in the family home in Montclair, New Jersey.
During World War II, he served as a naval officer in the South Pacific. In 1947, he returned to The Post and Courier as an editorial writer and columnist. In his later years, he relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, where he went on to be a journalist, author and newspaper executive. Under nom de plume Ashley Cooper, he wrote a long-running column, "Doing the Charleston," for the Charleston paper The Post and Courier; it ran until 1993.
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
I didn’t know this was a book. I’ve seen the movie with Lucille Ball.
I had no idea it was a movie with Lucille ball! I have to see it. I only knew about the Steve Martin adaption and that one was dumb.
Cheaper by the Dozen has been on my To-Read list for years! I should really make time to read it. So glad to hear how much you liked the book.