Cheaper by the Dozen

{{Infobox book | name = Cheaper by the Dozen | title_orig = | translator = | image = File:CheaperByTheDozen.jpg | caption = First edition cover (Thomas Y. Crowell Co.) | author = Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = | language = English | series = | subject = | genre = Autobiography | publisher = Thomas Y. Crowell Co. | pub_date = 1948 | english_pub_date = | media_type = Print | pages = 237 | isbn = 0-06-076313-2 | oclc = | dewey = | congress = | preceded_by = | followed_by = Belles on Their Toes (1950 book; 1952 film) }}Cheaper by the Dozen is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestselling book was later adapted into a feature film by Twentieth Century Fox in 1950 and followed up by the sequel, Belles on Their Toes (1950), which was adapted as a 1952 film. Plot The book tells the story of time and motion study and efficiency experts Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and their children as they reside in Montclair, New Jersey, for many years. Lillian Gilbreth was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living". The best-selling biographical novel was composed by two of the children, who wrote about their childhoods. Gilbreth's home doubled as a sort of real-world laboratory that tested her and her husband Frank's ideas about education and efficiency. The book is more of a series of stories, many of which are humorous, with little overarching narrative. The title comes from one of Frank Sr.'s favorite jokes: it often happened that when he and his family were out driving and stopped at a red light, a pedestrian would ask, "Hey, Mister! How come you got so many kids?" Gilbreth would pretend to ponder the question carefully, and then, just as the light turned green, would say, "Well, they come cheaper by the dozen, you know", and drive off.