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The Old Man Who Loved Cheese
Wallace P. Flynn loves smelly cheeses so much that his family leaves him, his dog and cats can't stand to be around him, and even the skunks have to move
32 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
66 people want to read
About the author
Garrison Keillor
280 books833 followersGary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor's Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer's Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 26, 2024
At first, I thought it was kind of crappy to have to give up something you love just because other people want you to. But then I replaced Wallace P. Flynn’s cheese addiction with other things people are often addicted to (hoarding, shopping, gaming, food, alcohol, drugs, etc.) and I realized Wallace P. Flynn isn't some poor guy whose family won't get off his back about enjoying cheese every now and then; he hoards it and even likes rotting cheese. Other people have to be able to live in the house too, and this man makes it impossible. This isn’t a book about sacrificing what you love in order to keep others happy. This is about giving up an addiction, an unhealthy habit. Freeing yourself. It’s about giving up the excess that you are clearly a prisoner to as it has completely taken over your life. Wallace P. Flynn lost sight of the fact his loved ones are more important than material things and/or his addictions. He chose to take the necessary steps to change his ways. That is a message that can really apply to anything in life, and I think it is an important one.
And, on a much more subtle note, I think the book in a way suggests that sometimes you need to stop enabling people and cut them out until they are ready to make a change. You don’t need to cut them out forever, but it is good to take care of yourself also. It’s okay to not want to put up with another person’s bullshit, even if that person is your close relative. Boundaries, baby.
And, on a much more subtle note, I think the book in a way suggests that sometimes you need to stop enabling people and cut them out until they are ready to make a change. You don’t need to cut them out forever, but it is good to take care of yourself also. It’s okay to not want to put up with another person’s bullshit, even if that person is your close relative. Boundaries, baby.
August 25, 2020
My five-year-old says: "This is definitely not based on a true story!"
June 18, 2018
Well . . . this one annoyed the hell out of me.
Keillor's rhymes are clunky. They do not trip lightly off the tongue, and I can't begin to imagine what a pain this would be to read aloud.
Wallace P. Flynn drove his load of cheese
Back to his lonely house in the trees ---
To him, it smelled like fresh spring blooms,
Sweet and pure and good and rich ---
While other drivers swerved into the ditch,
Overcome by deadly fumes.
And the point of it all? You must sacrifice what you love in order to keep others happy. As I recall, this didn't work so well for a certain tree that gave until it hurt, but if that's the message you want to instill in your child, be my guest.
I was rather fond of Anne Wilsdorf's cute illustrations, UNTIL we get to the last pages. The old man and his wife Louise are living in the Hebrides . . . because that sort of rhymes, you see.
Here they are enjoying a lovely sunny day:
And here is a photo of the Hebrides.
Where is the sun? Where are the palm trees? Where are the monkeys, for crying out loud?
Bad rhymes, bad message, bad depictions.
Bad book.
Keillor's rhymes are clunky. They do not trip lightly off the tongue, and I can't begin to imagine what a pain this would be to read aloud.
Wallace P. Flynn drove his load of cheese
Back to his lonely house in the trees ---
To him, it smelled like fresh spring blooms,
Sweet and pure and good and rich ---
While other drivers swerved into the ditch,
Overcome by deadly fumes.
And the point of it all? You must sacrifice what you love in order to keep others happy. As I recall, this didn't work so well for a certain tree that gave until it hurt, but if that's the message you want to instill in your child, be my guest.
I was rather fond of Anne Wilsdorf's cute illustrations, UNTIL we get to the last pages. The old man and his wife Louise are living in the Hebrides . . . because that sort of rhymes, you see.
Here they are enjoying a lovely sunny day:
And here is a photo of the Hebrides.
Where is the sun? Where are the palm trees? Where are the monkeys, for crying out loud?
Bad rhymes, bad message, bad depictions.
Bad book.
January 22, 2009
This book is a family favorite that makes poetry lots of fun! The illustrations are terrific, the rhymes make the story roll along and it is hilarious! Great for all ages read-aloud, a great intro to poetry for the young child who is old enough not to rip the pages while you turn them and young enough to laugh out loud every time a funny rhyme catches grown ups behaving in crazy fashion!
October 14, 2018
1. Awards the book has received: none
2. Appropriate grade levels: 1st and 2nd grade
3. Original 3-line summary: Old man Wallace P. Flynn loves cheese so much it eventually drives his family away. The stinky cheeses Flynn consumes leads the town to stage an attack against the man and bring him to court. Flynn agrees to give up cheese when he is re-acquainted with his son and new baby grandson.
4. Original 3-line review: "The Old Man Who Loved Cheese" is guaranteed a laugh or two. I found some of the rhyming to be a bit of a stretch and some of the vocabulary and concepts are difficult to understand. I would not recommend younger children try to read this by themselves; the book is much better suited for an adult-led read aloud.
5. 2-3 possible in-class uses: "The Old Man Who Loved Cheese" can be used in reviewing rhyming words. The book can also be used to teach different rhyme schemes, the author switches up the schemes used throughout the book so it does not feel too repetitive.
2. Appropriate grade levels: 1st and 2nd grade
3. Original 3-line summary: Old man Wallace P. Flynn loves cheese so much it eventually drives his family away. The stinky cheeses Flynn consumes leads the town to stage an attack against the man and bring him to court. Flynn agrees to give up cheese when he is re-acquainted with his son and new baby grandson.
4. Original 3-line review: "The Old Man Who Loved Cheese" is guaranteed a laugh or two. I found some of the rhyming to be a bit of a stretch and some of the vocabulary and concepts are difficult to understand. I would not recommend younger children try to read this by themselves; the book is much better suited for an adult-led read aloud.
5. 2-3 possible in-class uses: "The Old Man Who Loved Cheese" can be used in reviewing rhyming words. The book can also be used to teach different rhyme schemes, the author switches up the schemes used throughout the book so it does not feel too repetitive.
February 22, 2020
The Old Man Who Loved Cheese by Garrison Keillor, illustrated by Annie Wilsdorf (Little, Brown & Co. 1996) (Fiction – Children's) (3422). I read this (1) because I love Garrison Keillor's sense of humor, and (2) so that I can continue to say that I've read every book that Keillor has published.
This is a long but humorous poem in book form. Everyone the old man loves leaves him because of the overpowering stench of his favorite food. He learns his lesson and starts anew.
It's a cute little ditty that I'll never read again.
Kudos to Annie Wilsdorf, for the illustrations are much funnier than the text.
My rating: 7/10, finished 2/22/20 (3422).
June 25, 2019
Read this as part of completest project for Garrison Keillor, but like his other kids book Cat Come Home, I can't say that this is exactly spellbinding material.
The plot: there is an old man who loves to eat smelly cheese. It upsets his family to the point where they part ways with him. After he has a grandson, he gives up the cheese and is happily reunited with his family.
It's aimed at very young readers. My three year old would be a target audience, for instance. However, I don't intend to introduce this book into his rotation. Plenty of better children's material out there.
The plot: there is an old man who loves to eat smelly cheese. It upsets his family to the point where they part ways with him. After he has a grandson, he gives up the cheese and is happily reunited with his family.
It's aimed at very young readers. My three year old would be a target audience, for instance. However, I don't intend to introduce this book into his rotation. Plenty of better children's material out there.
July 21, 2020
Wallace really loved cheese as much as his family hated it because Wallace loved the extra smelly stuff. They hated it so much that they all moved away, and that's when Wallace's cheese eating habit really got out of control.
He was eventually taken to jail - either give us the cheese to serve his sentence. He gave up the cheese and got his family back.
It did suck that there couldn't be some kind of compromise, but it was an entertaining story anyway.
He was eventually taken to jail - either give us the cheese to serve his sentence. He gave up the cheese and got his family back.
It did suck that there couldn't be some kind of compromise, but it was an entertaining story anyway.
June 12, 2018
A really funny book about a man who loved stinky cheese. Not only did it give him bad breath, but it drove his family away, and required professionals in gas masks to come help. It’s an older book, as I’m not sure the illustrations and story line would be printed today, but I enjoyed my chance to read it.
June 13, 2017
Love this book, have read it many times to my granddaughter.
January 28, 2025
Has a good theme in a way children can understand
October 20, 2012
I love cheese, particularly stinky cheese, and although I don't think I'm that old yet, I did identify with the title and blurb and so bought this book for my older son as a Christmas present one year when he was little.
I thought it was a funny story with great illustrations, but my wife - I sound like Columbo! - my wife, she doesn't like stinky cheese, so not only do I usually have to eat it in another room, she couldn't even bear to listen to a story about it. End result: I no longer have this book.
But, I do still eat stinky cheese.
And, although my older son isn't that keen on the stinky stuff, my younger one loves it!
I thought it was a funny story with great illustrations, but my wife - I sound like Columbo! - my wife, she doesn't like stinky cheese, so not only do I usually have to eat it in another room, she couldn't even bear to listen to a story about it. End result: I no longer have this book.
But, I do still eat stinky cheese.
And, although my older son isn't that keen on the stinky stuff, my younger one loves it!
December 10, 2014
I like cheese, I have no sense of smell so the horrid smells of pungent cheese is not something I am worried about but that is what the story is all about.
This book is on two levels.
One.. goes on an on about cheese..how he drives his family away with the smell and his obsession to cheese. The Police gets involved and he is headed to court.
My favorite line in the book is "The smell was so awful, so sour and vile, The Skunks had to go and lie down for a while"
In the end the books is about changing your life..it is possible. Also that family is more important than cheese.... That sounds simple but the point is pretty deep!
The gas masks on the police is especially funny!
This book is on two levels.
One.. goes on an on about cheese..how he drives his family away with the smell and his obsession to cheese. The Police gets involved and he is headed to court.
My favorite line in the book is "The smell was so awful, so sour and vile, The Skunks had to go and lie down for a while"
In the end the books is about changing your life..it is possible. Also that family is more important than cheese.... That sounds simple but the point is pretty deep!
The gas masks on the police is especially funny!
March 10, 2009
Wallace P. Flynn loves the stinkiest cheese, to the great dismay of all those around him. After a near war with the town, he decides to give up cheese so he can spend time with his grandson. Fun use of vocabulary. Detailed and colorful illustrations. Great read aloud.
July 7, 2008
Hilarious!!!
January 8, 2009
I suppose this was supposed to be funny. It didn't have very good cadence. It wasn't easy to read out loud, and it was sort of too long (kept going on and on and on...).
April 13, 2011
I loved this book! It used rhyming, making the book seem like a long poem. The pictures were beautiful and the book portrayed a positive message.
January 31, 2013
This was a fun school library read with great story and great pictures.
April 28, 2013
Such a funny story! Kids will love this over-the-top tale about the man who loved smelly cheese. The rhyming lines are contagious and will have kids laughing until the end.
March 16, 2017
Read to Kate while we ate smoked Gouda.
June 9, 2010
This story will make the grumpiest person smile!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews