Cheaper by the Dozen
Recommended. Age: 10+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth are efficiency experts with twelve children. Dad times everything, even how fast the kids can button their shirts, and the house is full of noise, jokes and big ideas. A warm, funny memoir that treats a big family as a blessing, Recommended. Age 10, set by Lumen's own read-alone age.
For parents
Age 10, set by Lumen's own read-alone age (no Common Sense Media book review found; the HarperCollins edition lists ages 9 to 12, so the low end is 9). Read it aloud from 8. A woman from a national birth control group visits and is shocked by large families; the book plays her for laughs. Frank Sr. dies suddenly at the end. One daughter, Mary, died young, and the book never explains her absence. Ask: why did Mom and Dad want so many children? How did the family cope when Dad died?