Old Man Who Loved Cheese [Library Binding]

Garrison Keillor (Author), Anne Wilsdorf (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Wallace P.'s penchant for putrid cheese gets him into trouble. Will he ever learn to change his wheys? Wilsdorf's full-color illustrations capture every hilarious detail of Keillor's outlandish story.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"There was an old man named Wallace P. Flynn / Who lived in a house in the trees-- / You could smell him for several miles downwind / Because of his fondness for cheese." So begins silver-tongued storyteller Garrison Keillor's comical rhyming story The Old Man Who Loved Cheese. Mr. Flynn doesn't like mild cheese--he likes the stinkiest cheese available: "Some men want fame and their name on marquees. / Some men love money. I choose cheese," he proclaims to his frankly fed-up family. They scatter like leaves, and with his family gone, Mr. Flynn's life deteriorates as he spends more and more time at Easy Ed's Used Cheese Market. "The smell was so awful, so sour and vile / The skunks had to go and lie down for a while." It was only a matter of time before the cheese police moved in--smoking him out of his house with lemon meringue and butterscotch custard, both of which Mr. Flynn finds repulsive. In court, he finally agrees to forswear all cheese, convinced by the prospect of spending some time with his new grandson. Shortly after he is freed, he gets back together with his wife and they live happily ever after, sans fromage. Kids who laugh at all things smelly will certainly enjoy this rollicking tale, but it's perhaps even more suitable as comic relief for families experiencing the damaging effects of one family member's really bad habit. Illustrator Anne Wilsdorf's artwork is hilarious, cartoonish, appropriately gruesome, and jam-packed with details that adults and children alike will relish. (All ages) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

"With a whiff of limburger and a touch of Lake Wobegon, Keillor serves up the story of a man so enamored of malodorous cheese that he is arrested for smelling up the neighborhood," said PW of this slapstick rhyme. All ages.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Library Binding
• Publisher: Rebound by Sagebrush (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613119355
• ISBN-13: 978-0613119351
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,915,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Garrison Keillor is the bestselling author of Lake Wobegon Days, Happy To Be Here, Leaving Home, We Are Still Married, Radio Romance, The Book of Guys and Wobegon Boy (available in Penguin Audiobook). He is the host of A Prairie Home Companion on American public radio and a contributor to Time magazine. He lives in Wisconsin and New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Funny !, December 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Old Man Who Loved Cheese (Paperback)

This book is great for those little boys (or girls) that like "gross" stories. The story, told in a great rhyme, is about a man who eats only cheese in various icky forms, with great adjectives describing the cheeses.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twist your tounge with this cheesy book!, October 4, 2001

By 

Sandi Jones (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Old Man Who Loved Cheese (Paperback)

Garrison Keillor shows a great sense of humor, great rhythm in this odd tale. Let me first warn you though, read it to yourself first once, before trying to read it aloud to a child. If you are not familiar with gourmet cheeses you will be completely tounge tied. My husband and I both love it, our 4 sons have all loved it, as have any friends who have sat on our couch reading it to their children. The detail in some of the illustrations catches the eye of the slightly more sophisticated readers, while still appealing to the little ones. I would say, for oral reading, due to the number of foreign words that this is for the adult to read to the child.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious!, July 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Old Man Who Loved Cheese (Library Binding)

In true Garrison Keillor fashion, this book spins a tale about a man totally obsessed with his love for cheese. Keillor is so good at poetry. I learned how to pronounce many an odd-named cheese from this book. It's got a couple of mildly objectionable lines in it, but otherwise is just perfect. My kids just love this book during our reading time. It's fun to read aloud!