Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens - Hardcover

Spencer Johnson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0091894506 ISBN 13: 9780091894504

Publisher: Vintage/Ebury (a Division of Random, 2003

Synopsis

This book presents an A-Mazing way to change and win! Who moved my cheese? is a simple parable that has helped millions of people around the world deal with the changes in their lives. It is an amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a 'Maze' and look for 'Cheese' to nourish them and make them happy. Two are mice named sniff and Scurry. And two are 'Little people' - beings the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw. 'Cheese' is a metaphor for what you want to have in life - whether it is doing well in school, making the team, getting a good job, finding a loving relationship or just feeling good about yourself. And the 'Maze" is where you look for what you want - your school, where you work and play or the family or community you live in. In the story, the characters are faced with unexpected change. Eventually, one of them deals with it successfully, and writes what he learns from his experience on the Maze walls. When you come to see 'The Handwriting on the Wall', you can discover for yourself how to deal with change so that you can overcome your fears and see change as a way of gaining something better.

About this title

Review:

Having a million-plus copies of the bestselling Who Moved My Cheese? in print hasn't stopped Spencer Johnson, (The One Minute Manager) from repackaging his homily about adapting to life changes for a teenage audience.

The core of this teen book--a cheesy (literally) allegory about four characters navigating a maze in pursuit of happiness (cheese) with varying success--is identical to the cheese-quest story told in Johnson's grownup book. The only difference is that the opening and closing backstory that pads out Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens involves a group of teenagers kibbutzing in the cafeteria, not a group of adults attending their high school reunion.

Of course, it's hard to argue with the essence of Johnson's commonsense message: one of the few constants in life is change, and the sooner we learn to anticipate and adjust to change, the happier we'll be. But most criticisms of the book (and there have been many) boil down to the fact that Cheese is just too reductive and simplistic, and sometimes change in our lives can and should be resisted. (It hasn't helped that the book's popularity among corporate managers has come to be associated with layoffs... er, cheese removals.) But whatever your take on Johnson's philosophy, you'd do well to keep it to yourself. Otherwise, you can count on your teenager to form the exact opposite opinion. (Ages 12 and older) --Paul Hughes

About the Author:

Spencer Johnson, MD, is one of the world's leading authors of inspirational writing. He has written many New York Times bestsellers, including the worldwide phenomenon Who Moved My Cheese? and, with Kenneth Blanchard, The One Minute Manager. His works have become cultural touchstones and are available in 40 languages.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage/Ebury (a Division of Random
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0091894506
• ISBN 13: 9780091894504
• Binding: Hardcover