The Old Man Who Loved Cheese

"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


Genre: Children's Fiction