I remember this book/series as a favorite when I was young, 40+ years ago. It was one we read as a family, so sentimental to the siblings as well. Utah/Mormon connection. I'm fairly sure I re-read it as a teen, and adult, but still before keeping track on Goodreads. So during #middlegradeMay I figured I'd do an official re-read (and I went with the audiobook). I have the physical book ready for the Little Free Library (I already have one on my personal shelves). 

It's surprising how much I still remembered ... but there were likely multiple re-reads when I was young (before ebooks and access became so easy). 

A very conversational, 1st person (past-tense). One might notice that the main character, JD, shares the same name as the author. Are these true stories of his youth? Unlike most books today, there isn't an "About the Author" section, or author's notes to clarify. He was born and raised in a small, southern Utah town, he had a brother named Tom, and I'm sure there was some inspiration from his life, but ... fiction. 

This is just a simple tale(s) of early life - before indoor plumbing, when kids ran free and played tag and marbles. The Fitzgerald family isn't Mormon, but there are many Mormon families around, as well as ZCMI, etc. JD is the youngest of three brothers, and Tom, the middle brother, has "A Great Brain" and is often using it to think of things others haven't, do get ahead and make a little money (although many see his shenanigans as "swindles") ...

There are eight chapters, little situations, some singular to the chapter, others that continue to run through the rest of the book ...
1. The Magic Water Closet (Pa is one of the first to install indoor plumbing! Tom sells tickets to the town kids to check it out). 
2. Revenge Can Be Sour (Measles! Mumps! Ma likes to get childhood diseases over with, so if one gets something, they all do). 
3. The Great Brain Saves the Day (Kids lost in a cave ...)
4. Abie Glassman Finds a Home (a little sad ... his story continued in Ch6)
5. Greek Immigrant (Tom helps a new kid find his place in the gang ...)
6. A Wreath for Abie 
7. The New Teacher (new teachers gets on the wrong end of Tom's Great Brain)
8. The Great Brain's Reformation (trigger warning/suicide, boy with a peg leg doesn't feel like he should continue living, Tom turns things around ... and reforms?)

... funny, the book ends with "Things got mighty dull after The Great Brain decided to give up his crooked ways and to walk the straight and narrow. So dull Papa didn’t even bother to come upstairs and see if Tom was in bed the night the schoolhouse burned down. So dull there is no more to tell."  BUT apparently there was more (and Tom wasn't really reformed).  I remember "Me and My Little Brain" being a favorite of mine, and my sister's favorite was "The Great Brain at the Academy" which was memorable (as Tom would buy candy at home, then sneak them into school and sell them there for a profit). I remember in one of the books, he started with something small, and traded/traded/traded until he ended up with something really great. Nothing Tom does is BAD, and when confronted, he usually can justify and explain things away enough to confuse JD (and the reader?)

It does feel a little dated (written in 1967) ... my kids weren't interested in reading them. There are original illustrations by Mercer Mayer (the LittleCritter books). I was really surprised the pictures (not a ton) weren't included in the Kindle copy. My physical book has an updated cover, but still the MM illustrations inside.