Cheaper by the Dozen

In my first management course in graduate school I learned about scientific management and motion study. This wasn’t my first introduction to Frank Gilbreth, Sr., and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, though. I had already met them as the parents of a dozen children through the memoir written by two of their children and the movie based on the book. It’s been long enough since I’ve read the book that it was a fresh experience for me. The brother and sister who co-authored the book tell stories from their childhood episodically rather than chronologically. They write of parents and siblings with genuine affection. Many of the stories are laugh-out-loud funny. I had a happy childhood myself, and yet I found myself wishing I could have been show more among the Gilbreth dozen. show less

Cheaper by the Dozen is probably one of the books I've had the most fun reading. This is the story of Frank Gilbreth, his wife, and their twelve children around the turn of the 20th century. It's an account, written by two of the twelve children, of the many interesting and humorous events that they witnessed growing up in such a large family. Family life is made even more enjoyable by their extremely unique father who was a pioneer of motion-study, and who did such things as covering the walls of their home with lessons about astronomy, Morse code, etc.

In real life, Frank Gilbreth was the foremost expert in the country on motion study and its effects. Transferring this knowledge to his home life, Frank attempted to raise his twelve show more children according to his own unique set of rules and regulations. The result was sometimes catastrophic, sometimes brilliant, and always funny. These twelve lively kids make the book fun to read and I loved the variety of stories that made their lives memorable. Every child is so unique and by the end of the book, I really felt that I was part of the family.

I've probably read this book a half dozen times over the past fifty years. It's serious, funny, and sad in some places. I found this charming story to be captivating, motivational, heartwarming, and humorous. There are so many hilarious anecdotes I was constantly in laughter and tears. The book is full of humorous events including family trips in the car which always caused people to stare, family council meetings, and one of the most memorable, a visit from a woman representing birth control who had no idea how large the family was. I highly recommend this wonderful story about an interesting real-life family. show less

I read this book because I love the movie by the same name. Of course, I refer to the movie starring Clifton Webb and not the cheap remake with Steve Martin.

I wanted to love this book and, in fact, I did love this book, but one thing kept me from giving it 5 stars. I could not get past the subtle (or not so subtle) racism from the mother. She had a habit of saying when something or somebody was unsavoury or dirty, that they were being "Eskimo". I know that the time of this book was the early 20th century and that this kind of racism was common and acceptable but today it is not and it left me with a mild distaste for the book as a result.

That aside, this book nicely tells about an amazing family headed by a remarkable man and woman who show more were ahead of their time when it came to efficiency studies. show less

Cheaper by the Dozen is a tongue in cheek memoir by Frank Gilbreth Junior and his sister Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. These siblings were just two of the twelve children that their parents raised. Frank Gilbreth Senior and his wife, Lillian Moller Gilbreth were efficiency experts who raised their 12 children in a large house in Montclair, New Jersey. The book takes a humorous look at the unusual child raising methods of Frank Gilbreth. He believed in a hands on approach and in working closely with his wife in order to guide his children. They worked well together even though they were polar opposites.

Frank believed that his efficiency methods that were effective in the workplace could also work well with the children. He taught his show more children to type, speak different languages, learn math shortcuts and, to readily allow themselves to be guinea pigs for many of his ideas. Although his methods often fell short or ended in hilarity, one thing that came across clearly was the love both of these parents had for each other and their family.

Cheaper by the Dozen is an enjoyable and nostalgic look back at yesteryear. The children were raised during the 1920’s and the book was originally published in 1948. I have seen the charming film version starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy. Apparently many of the events described in the book actually did happen, but the authors used artistic license to enhance the episodes. It is interesting to note that Lillian, in addition to giving birth and raising these children, had a degree in psychology, and worked as one of the first female engineers. I found Cheaper By the Dozen to be a pleasurable read and I look forward to picking up the sequel, Belles on Their Toes in the future. show less

A yellowed paperback copy of this book made its way from my Mom's shelves to mine back when I was a teen and on a serious classics kick but I hadn't picked it up before now. Discussing the book with her this weekend, I learned that she'd bought it for school and didn't like it much. My opinion didn't vary from hers. Two of the elder of the Gilbreth siblings write this memoir of their years growing up in a family of twelve children in the early 1900s, but the primary focus of the memoir is their father. With strong opinions and a large personality, you can tell from the tone of the text that these children adore the memory of their father but as an outside observer, he comes across as a bit of jerk. A motion study engineer (essentially show more he consulted as an efficiency expert for mostly factories, reducing the number of motions workers needed to make for a job), I'll give him credit for making his wife an equal partner in his professional life. But his views on child-rearing were a bit bizarre and while they were effective, he'd give some modern helicopter parents a run for their money. With far fewer anecdotes of the hijinks the children got up to in such a large family, the narrative wasn't quite what I expected. The writing is also a product of its time with several moments of casual racism. My biggest takeaway was the boggling fact that the Gilbreths had twelve children in seventeen years (with no multiple births) and that Frank Gilbreth senior passed away when the youngest was two years old. I'd be far more fascinated to read a tale of Lillian Gilbreth single parenting all those children. Not recommended. show less

The parents of Frank and Ernestine make an interesting couple. She is a psychologist and he is a motion study engineer. Together, they work to make processes more efficient for various business and by default, their twelve children are efficiency aficionados. Why twelve children? As Mr. Gilbreth explains, they were "cheaper by the dozen." It's a running joke in the family. Be forewarned, the family has a lot of running jokes.
An example of making a process more efficient: Mr. Gilbreth evaluated surgeons during operations to make their procedures go smoother.
While the bulk of Gilbreth's story is humorous, it must be said that at the time of writing no one thought it politically or socially incorrect to call a Native American a "red show more indian."
I don't want to give too much away, but the birth control scene was hysterical. I couldn't help but laugh out loud more than once. And I don't think it is a spoiler alert to say that I loved the ending. Mother Gilbreth steps fearlessly into her husband's shoes and carries on the family business. Brilliant. show less

This was a preteen favorite, purchased for me by my inappropriate-at-times mother. This book, though, really hit the mark. I spent my preteen, teen, and early twenties years rereading this over and over. Frank Gilbreth was a very unique man who pushed his children to be busy, productive human beings. If only there were more fathers like Mr. Gilbreth.

Very funny, with a very sad ending. Great job, Mims.

If you want to watch a movie based on the novel, please opt for the 1950 version starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, not the 2003 monstrosity featuring Steve Martin.