This book follows the Gilbreth family's adventures from just after their dad has died until all the children are grown and married. The mishaps are humorous, the children are realistic and funny, and the plot is inspiring. However, this book lacks the one element that made its predecessor so incredibly wonderful: Dad.

Dad was the one who had the hilarious techniques, the atrocious standards, the crazy ideas. He was the one with the impossible ideals, superb gifts, and vibrant personality. Dad was the one who insisted that his home become a model of motion study and a picture of order. Incidently, Dad was the one that gave Cheaper by the Dozen its laughs, its suspense, and its plotline. Without him, Belles on Their Toes is funny, but feels lifeless because there is no Dad there to knock someone's elbow on the table.

I did enjoy reading this book and some parts had me laughing out loud. But if you're looking for another gripping story like Cheaper and the Dozen, look elsewhere. The main conflict of this book is Mother's struggle to send all of her children through college. It is a story about learning, maturing, and accomplishing goals.

I found this book in my cousin's room and did not emerge until, bleary-eyed, I had read it cover to cover. Since then, I've re-read it dozens of times, along with the prequel, Cheaper by the Dozen. Gilbreth family fans will want to know Frank Gilbreth wrote another, adult book, about his father. Also, the University of Texas at Austin has the Gilbreth motion-study film collection.

If you enjoyed Cheaper by the Dozen, reading this book is a must! After Father Gilbreth dies, Mother is left to carry on with her dozen children. The hilarious (and sometimes ridiculous) escapades in this book range from Tom, (the cook) having trouble dosing the Gilbreth clan with castor oil, to first dates and general instruction for the girls by their brothers on how NOT to get kissed! This book is HILARIOUS! Trust me - this is one you DON'T want to miss! Settle yourself down in your favorite easy chair and laugh yourself silly with the amusing escapades of the Gilbreth Clan!

This book is the story of an unusual family at the turn of the century, with twelve children. The father is an efficiency expert who runs the family like it is a factory assembly line, with everything timed down to the minute. Even the times for bathing are scheduled, so that the household runs smoothly. Mr. Gilbreth practices all of his ideas on how to run an efficient business on his family; they are the guinea pigs for new ideas.
He is the parent who disciplines all the kids, and the mom is really understanding of how hard it is to live in such an unusual family. Both of the parents were professionals, as the mom was also a psychologist and industrial engineer. They applied their professional ideas on raising the 12 kids. The children learn foreign languages, long division and about the solar system, using methods from Mr. Gilbreth's professional life. They were also taught touch typing and morse code by efficient methods. It is a very humorous look at the life of a large and unusual family. The ending of the book is sad, as Mr. Gilbreth dies, leaving Mrs. Gilbreth to raise the children alone.

The tone of the book is humor, as many of the situations are really funny, and the parents approach life with a sense of humor. The father is often very sarcastic, but not in a mean way. He liked to parade the family around and even though he was proud of them, he found the reactions of other people very funny. The parent's sense of humor made dealing with the problems of a large family easier, and made for a more loving lifestyle. Even though raising a family that large was serious business, they never took life too seriously. I think that is an important way to raise a family, by keeping a sense of humor. The father is a smart man, and he is never characterized as an idiot, even though he does some crazy things to help his family. The main theme throughout the book is the importance of humor in their lives.

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN

Format: Paperback,1st ed., 180 pages ISBN: 0553272500 Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Younger Readers Pub. Date: February 1981 Other Formats: Hardback Recommended Age:Third grade and up

Wonderful...Once you start to read the first page you wont be able to put the book down. This perfect way to spend a rainy day. You will be very amused when you read about the hilarious events of the Gilbreth family. The family of twelve children have many adventures you will enjoy reading. The father is almost crazy and a very successful business man. He is very strict and overprotective. He won't let his daughters wear make up or dress the way they like to. They slowly change his mind and begin to dress their way. He thinks his children can do anything and is also believed he could do anything. He loved jokes and laughing and you will love the practical jokes they play on each other. The rich family loves to go to movies then out for ice cream. They also spend their summers at the beach, where their Dad forces them to learn to swim. He wants them to learn as much as possible about everything so he always finds a way to teach them new things. As an efficiency expert he made sure that everything was done in a time efficient way. It was a sin to waste time in the Gilbreth house and he was constantly coming up with new ways to save time. The Dad in the story liked to parade around and show off his kids. Although this was embarassing to some of the kids as they got older Dad found it hilarious. The mother also was sometimes embarrassed or insulted by the attention they got or the comments other people made. This book will keep you laughing right up to the last chapter when Dad dies. The book is a mixture of humor and then sadness at the ending. This is an excellent book that everybody should read. I recommend this book for anyone that knows how to read no matter how old or young!

Dina Bastianini, Pine-Richland High School

This book is the best book I have ever read. I own it and have read it many times. It kept me interested from the first page and you will not want to put it down. It is about a family of 12 children. Their dad is always thinking of new ways to save time and he thinks that he can teach him and his children anything. The family likes to play practical jokes on eachother and are always having a good time. This book is very interesting and never gets boring.

After reading "Cheaper by the Dozen and "Belles on Their Toes", I really wanted to learn more about the amazing Gilbreth family. Written by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., it's a more detailed story of the patriarch of the Gilbreth family, Frank B. Gilbreth, Sr. His outstanding career is highlighted, and the author seems to spend a great deal of time making sure his father gets proper credit for his landmark work in motion study. He succeeds, and entertains and amazes his reader in the process. He also shares additional stories about the 12 children, the unusual relatives, and other people who influenced their lives. The book is also a glowing tribute to his mother, Lillian, who partnered with her husband and then took over the reins upon his death.

If you are reading this review then you have almost definitely drifted here because you are fan of 'Cheaper by the Dozen' and are looking for further reading - well the short answer is - track down a copy of this book - it will explain all - but don't expect Cheaper by the Dozen all over again. While that book was a series of Hilarious anecdotes on how the dozen children of Time and Motion experts, Frank and Lillie Gilbreth, were raised this is really a more serious biography of their life. Frank Jnr, who co-authored the first book and is sole author of this memoir, started writing it before his mother Lillie died - I think to please her. For while she had enjoyed the flippant good-fun of Cheaper by the Dozen, it seems she was worried that her and husband's work might be reduced to the level of a comic remembrance, and certainly she had fought long and hard for their work to be accepted thanks to a smear campaign conducted by their rivals. This book is still has all the warmth of Cheaper by the Dozen, I think the Gilbreth's must be pathologically incapable of being anything but witty and friendly, but it is a more serious biography of the family. It was also a very welcome one for I Cheaper by the Dozen left many things unexplained - I could never quite figure out how many children the family had at any one time as names would pop up with the barest of reference. In this we find out that one of the children, a daughter, died very young in an epidemic. Mostly what I found interesting is the greater detail of Lillie's life both before she married, and as a widow. The book also explains more about the Gilbreth's work, the innovative techniques they introduced which we now considered standard business manangement practice. Lillie Gilbreth was an amazing woman, she pioneered many of the advantages women hold today - including membership of engineering organisations, and all in her inimitable, calm way - she is truly inspirational.

I loved Cheaper By The Dozen and Belles on Their Toes, so I loved this book,too. It was really interesting to find out about the lives and the families of Frank and Lillie before they had the children. It was written from a point of view that made it easy to understand. This book is more focused on the lives of the parents of the children and their lives than it is on the lives of the children.