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Cheaper by the Dozen
Cheaper by the Dozen
Author: Frank B. Gilbreth, Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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 Cheap...  more ». Translated into more than fifty-three languages and made into a classic film starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, Cheaper by the Dozen is a delightfully enduring story of family life at the turn of the 20th century.
ISBN-13: 9780690186321
ISBN-10: 0690186320
Publication Date: 9/1993
Edition: Reissue
Rating:
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0 stars, based on 0 rating
Publisher: Harpercollins
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 813 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is a memoir about Frank and Lillian Gilbreth written by two of their older children. (They had twelve. How could you guess?) The Gilbreths were a rather prolific team in the business realm also. From 1910 to 1924 (when Frank Sr. died) they were highly respected efficiency experts in the United States and in Europe. Their major contribution in the areas of motion study and efficiency is still referenced today in all major textbooks on management. This book traces their life up to the time of Franks death. Frank, with his humorously dictatorial approach to parenthood, is the central figure. The family also becomes the test arena for many of his efficiency theorems and practices. Lillian, somewhat in the background, is the one who quietly keeps everything in control. This is a whimsical portrayal of life in the upper middle class at the turn of the century. It is an enjoyable book that should never go out of fashionor print.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 257 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Better than the new movie any day of the week and twice on Sunday! And if you read this you have to get the sequel Belles on Their Toes!
Great family classics!
abbykt avatar reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 113 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
There is a reason that that only the special few have twelve kids. I was so impressed by Mr. Gilbreth in this memoir. He found so many amazing ways to teach his children will any time that was at his disposal. It was quite intimidating actually when I think of my attempts to teach my children. He really is a role model. His wife was amazing too to go along with all his schemes. This was a great read.
kskrista avatar reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 162 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Definitely a wonderful book about a family that respects one another and learns responsibility. A fascinating and funny read.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 40 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is a WONDERFUL book written by two children of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, a couple who developed efficiency and safety studies in the early 1900's. This brother and sister team describe the pitfalls of growing up in a family of 12 children, who are guinea pigs for their father's efficiency experiments. Adults and children both will appreciate the humor in the many childhood pranks, and in the embarrassing situations the teens have to deal with, due to old-fashioned parents and too many mischievous siblings.

I find this book just as funny and poignant now as I did when I first read it 50 years ago! If you like humor in a vintage setting, this is for you!
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scrapbooklady avatar reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 472 more book reviews
"Cheaper by the Dozen" is a nice, humorous read.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 2 more book reviews
funny. I also enjoyed getting a true glimpse of life during the first part of the 20th century.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on
Although the cover shows the movie version (which is nothing like the book!), this book is the original. It is hilarious! I highly recommend this book. It is set in the early 1900s, but written in almost as if the authors were sharing their story with you then and there. A real family book.
georgiagymdog avatar reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on
This book is a classic. If you're disappointed that the book and movie are different, be disappointed in the movie - the book came long before! I read it growing up and look forward to introducing it to my child in a few years.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 6 more book reviews
This is not the Steve Martin movie version. This is the classic book of the Gilbreth family; mom, dad and their twelve children! Dad is an efficiency expert/engineer and often applies work principles at home with hilarious results. The book also has some very poignant moments as we watch the children grow up and the family deal with trials.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 29 more book reviews
A famous efficiency expert tries to organize 12 children in one household.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 28 more book reviews
Backcover: No growing pains have ever been more hilarious than those suffered loudly by the riotous Gilbreth clan. First, there are a dozen re-haired, freckle-faced kids to contend with. Then there's Dad, a famous efficiency expert, who believes a family can be run just like a factory. And there's Mother, his partner in everything except discipline. How they all survive such escapades as forgetting Frank Jr., at a roadside restaurant, or going on a first date with Dad in the backseat, or having their tonsils removed en masse, will keep you in stitches. You can be sure they're not only cheaper, they're funnier by the dozen.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 3 more book reviews
Filled with large family accidents, quirky incidents, and stories to keep you chuckling "Cheaper by the Dozen" is an excellent read. Taking you back through the years to a different era this is a good light read.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 4 more book reviews
It was very interesting to read the real story of this large family. It was full of funny stories and funny characters, all named Gilbreth. Well worth readying!
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on
My wife and I did this book as a read-aloud. It's a light funny enjoyable wholesome read.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 18 more book reviews
true story
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 12 more book reviews
Very funny!
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on
Funny stuff. I mean, Laugh Out Loud funny.
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 75 more book reviews
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, and 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."
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on
great story!
reviewed Cheaper by the Dozen on + 8 more book reviews
1949 memoir of life with the Gilbreths - efficiency expert Frank, his wife Lillian, and their twelve children. Wholesome and funny and an absolute classic.


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