Cheaper by the Dozen (2003 film) about the chaos and cancels the book tour to take charge of the situation. Kate's publisher decides to create an additional promotion for her book by inviting Oprah Winfrey to tape a segment about the Bakers in their home instead. Despite much coaching from Kate, the Bakers are not able to demonstrate the loving, strongly bonded family that Kate described in her book. When Mark becomes upset that his pet frog has died, a heated fight erupts moments before the segment starts, leading the cameramen to tell Winfrey to cancel it. Mark runs away from home, prompting the Bakers to
Cheaper by the Dozen Washington Post": "[I]t is a joy to report that "Cheaper by the Dozen" still reads remarkably well. ... The prose ... is unadorned and matter of fact, and its organizational structure is a bit difficult to detect, but what matters most is that it is a touching family portrait that also happens to be very, very funny." Cheaper by the Dozen 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 kids. The bestselling book