The Great Brain

The Great Brain
  • The Great Brain
  • More Adventures of the Great Brain
  • Me and My Little Brain
  • The Great Brain at the Academy
  • The Great Brain Reforms
  • The Return of the Great Brain
  • The Great Brain Does It Again
  • The Great Brain Is Back
AuthorJohn D. Fitzgerald
IllustratorMercer Mayer
Cover artistMercer Mayer
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genrechildren's fiction, American history
PublisherDial Press
Published1967 – 1995

The Great Brain is a series of children's books by American author John Dennis Fitzgerald (1906–1988). Set in the small town of Adenville, Utah, between 1896 and 1898, the stories are loosely based on Fitzgerald's childhood experiences. Chronicled by the first-person voice of John Dennis Fitzgerald, the stories mainly center on the escapades of John's mischievous older brother, Tom Dennis Fitzgerald, a.k.a. "The Great Brain". The Great Brain was made into a movie released in 1978, with the main character played by Jimmy Osmond.[1]

Mercer Mayer originally illustrated the books, except for 1995's The Great Brain Is Back (which was illustrated by Diane deGroat). Mayer did the original cover illustrations for the first seven books as well, but Carl Cassler re-did the cover illustrations for some of the reprints of the first seven books.

  1. ^ "The Great Brain (1978)," Internet Movie Database. Accessed Aug. 2, 2018.