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Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.

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Cheaper by the Dozen Kindle Edition

by Frank B. Gilbreth (Author), Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 2,119 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Cheaper by the Dozen Series

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The #1 New York Times–bestselling classic: A hilarious memoir of two parents, twelve kids, and “a life of cheerfully controlled chaos” (The New York Times).

Translated into more than fifty languages, Cheaper by the Dozen is the unforgettable story of the Gilbreth clan as told by two of its members. In this endearing, amusing memoir, siblings Frank Jr. and Ernestine capture the hilarity and heart of growing up in an oversized family.

Mother and Dad are world-renowned efficiency experts, helping factories fine-tune their assembly lines for maximum output at minimum cost. At home, the Gilbreths themselves have cranked out twelve kids, and Dad is out to prove that efficiency principles can apply to family as well as the workplace.

The heartwarming and comic stories of the jumbo-size Gilbreth clan have delighted generations of readers, and will keep you and yours laughing for years.

This ebook features an illustrated biography including rare photos from the authors’ estates.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Always entertaining, occasionally hilarious, occasionally touching . . . sound Americana.” —The Saturday Review of Literature
“Gay and light-hearted . . . One of the most amusing books.” —Chicago Sun-Times
“Instructive, funny, and very readable.” —School Library Journal

From the Back Cover

What do you get when you mix a blunt-talking, famous efficiency-expert father and a brilliant, compassionate psychologist mother with twelve rambunctious offspring of various sizes? You get one of America's all-time best- loved memoirs! The hilarious story of growing up Gilbreth has already delighted generations of readers -- and it remains as joyous and exuberant as ever. Laugh along with the adventures of the large, irrepressible family unit that redefined the term -- and proved the old adage, the more the merrier ... and scarier!

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00FTOANM2
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (November 5, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 5, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4887 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 178 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B0BJBHPR4V

Best Sellers Rank: #80,458 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #31 in Parenting & Family Humor
- #113 in Parenting & Families Humor
- #521 in Memoirs (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 2,119 ratings

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Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
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Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. (1911–2001) served as a lieutenant commander in the US Navy during World War II, earning the Bronze Star and Air Medal for his valor in the campaigns in the South Pacific. After the war, he worked for the Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, as a columnist and reporter. His books include How to Be a Father and Time Out for Happiness, and the classics Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes, both coauthored with his sister Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
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Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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4.6 out of 5

2,119 global ratings

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Heather E. Campbell

For Dad who only had 12 children, and for Mom who had 12 only children

Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2015

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It almost seems a bit silly to write of a review of this because surely most people know of it already! But, in case you don't: Lillian and Frank Gilbreth were important time/motion-study experts in the early part of the 20th Century. Frank had no college and was very outgoing. Lillian was more introverted and eventually earned a PhD. But they were true partners. When they married, they decided they wanted to have 12 children, ideally 6 boys and 6 girls. And they did. :-) Then, Frank thought it fun and useful to run their household on time-motion principles. Frank Jr. and Ernestina Gilbreth (the authors) were two of these dozen children who became writers when they grew up and who wrote this story about growing up in this fun and unusual family. The writing style is breezy and amusing and probably about for 10-year-old and up independent reader. Adults can also enjoy this very much. Cheaper By the Dozen Is very funny and I highly recommend it. And if adults become interested there is an excellent biography of Lillian called Making Time. And there is a also a second Frank and Ernestina second book called Belles on their Toes--less funny and probably for slightly older children, but still funny and easy to read. [The heading of this review is from Frank Jr.'s and Ernestina's dedication for the book (Frank sometimes said he thought stopping at 12 was too few)].

6 people found this helpful

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Emily J. Stephens

family in my heart

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2023

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To read this is to become one of a loving, famous and remarkable family. US history needs to include more about their work.

One person found this helpful

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Avid Reader

Fun adventures of a large family

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2015

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This was a delightful book, for readers of all ages. It's filled with family tidbits from the early 1920's. The writing style is from a narrative point of view, describing the lives of the family through one of the sons. There are many parts where the father strongly reminds me of J. Jonah Jameson from the spider-man series. The father yells, is very opinionated, but has his soft spots. Actually the dad seemed to have excessive control problems, which added to the hilarity of the events. Some parts were more believable than others, and yet I was somewhat disappointed with the ending. It just...ended, and felt incomplete. Yet the book is filled with many comparable issues that we might hear our parents say today. This is proof that generational cycles of beliefs toward the next generation repeat themselves. I purchased a copy of this book.

2 people found this helpful

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Royce J Stilson

An easy read; a great story!

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2016

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It is the third time I have read this book over the last 30 years--what a delight. It is well written, hilarious and true. What wonderful parents to rear and sacrifice much of their lives to bring into the world 12 children, (6 daughters, 6 sons) and to rear, teach train, feed, clothe and house so many wonderful individuals.
The parents were innovative, world leaders in motion study and time-saving methods for industry and other disciplines; they were also very ingenious in the ways they trained their children in reading, math, languages, etc.; the children grew up clever, innovative clones of these two parents.
What a riot it must have been to be in that family, to observe the family as neighbors, and townsfolk.
Everyone should read this book. It will brighten their day and diminish their own problems and give courage to those parents with less than a half-dozen children at home.

6 people found this helpful

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Wendy

So funny

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2021

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I loved this movie growing up (the original, not the remake). When I needed a biography for a reading challenge, I thought this would be fun. A lot of it I can picking my head from the movie, but a larger amount of detail is included in the book... plus more stories that didn’t make the movie. A light read, with humor and nostalgia, and a little bit of sad. I’m glad I picked this one.

2 people found this helpful

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Renee

Nostalgic

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2021

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It was fun & satisfying to spend time with an old favorite. I first read this as a middle schooler, and though the setting of the book is "before my time," it still brought back many fond memories. My dad was a brash, outrageous, life-of-the-party character with a big heart for his family--similar to the Gilbreth dad. I enjoyed this quick trip to the past--the Gilbreth kids & mine.

2 people found this helpful

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Nynaeve

Amusing, but the father is tiresome

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2020

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I'm surprised by how few of the other reviewers found the paterfamilias of this book irritating, as I did. He bloviates [Amazon, this word is marked as misspelled when it is not - please correct your dictionary] at the dinner table, dismissing all other attempts at conversation as "not for general interest." He bellows and honks multiple loud horns when he drives, and he drives so poorly he scares everyone half to death - but no one is allowed to abstain and stay home, because when Father wants to go driving, everyone has to go. He forces the children to run when he whistles no matter what they might have been in the middle of doing (what if someone was stricken with diarrhea when His Master came a-whistlin', or simply in the middle of a good book?). He forces the children to skip grades even if they don't want to or don't feel ready. Physical punishments for simply taking, in Father's eyes, too long to learn something abound, including heads being smacked hard with pencils and bodies being hit with a rope. It's all depicted in a lighthearted manner, but I still see a dictator rather than a "fun" parent. For crying out loud, he admonishes the oldest child, Anne, that he will put the fear of God in her [paraphrasing] because it's her responsibility to keep the younger children from misbehaving while they're out and about on one of those godawful drives that no one except the father enjoys. Even when Anne says desperately that she's trying but that no one's listening to her, he still yells at her. Yeah, he and his wife contributed Great Things(TM) to time & motion studies, but in my opinion, they were awful parents. The second-worst offense was dragging poor Lill on a cross-country train ride 3 weeks after she broke a foot bone (the book doesn't specify which bone). She's described as lying on a couch in the train car, "crying in pain," and her mother is ignoring her as she's trying to feed the also-crying, motion-sickness-blighted baby. No one wants to be dragged on vacation when their foot's injured. The worst offense was making the children have their tonsils removed, including Martha, who has just ingested a great deal of food. Firstly, read that again - the father MADE his children have their tonsils out, not because it was to their benefit, but because he wanted videotape of surgeries being done - and one of the children was full of food when she went under anesthesia. That actually could have killed her; there's a reason why they make you go 12 hours without eating before they put you under. They knew she was full of food, too. They actually dragged her, practically kicking and screaming, from her aunt's house, where she'd been having a lovely time. She made it clear she did not want her tonsils out, as did the other children. What a loving family.

41 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A must read for every family

Reviewed in India on June 25, 2019

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I absolutely loved this book when I read it as a kid.

Iceey

Great Read

Reviewed in Australia on June 26, 2021

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Moved along at a great pace, full of humorous anecdotes. It was a light but interesting read of an unusual but interesting family. Would recommend to anyone looking for a true, humorous story.

Laurena King

Cheaper by the Dozen

Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2014

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I didn't know what I expected going into this book. Maybe I was of the mindset that the Steve Martin movie might have even just a little bit more in common with it for starters. I loved that movie. Now that I've read this novel, I realize while I still enjoy the movie, it's not what I should have been. This book was beautiful. It was funny. It was heart-wrenching. This novel was an insight into the Gilbreth family. There were a dozen kids and efficiency experts as parents. They had so many adventures and did so many activities as a family that I'll admit I was jealous. They were one unit that depended on Mr Frank Bunker Gilbreth to run smoothly and efficiently. I was moved so much by this book and while I was confused and overwhelmed by the number and names of the children (Mary was only mentioned that one time...for example) but over all I thoroughly enjoyed what these two Gilbreth children wrote about their experiences. I will definitely be recommending this book to others. It's one of the most beautiful books I've ever read in my life.

4 people found this helpful

hu chen

trop drôle!

Reviewed in France on February 24, 2014

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très bon roman d'histoire d'une famille nombreux, génial pour son écrit fluide et qui me fait rire tout le temps!

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Cheaper by the Dozen Kindle Edition

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