The Big Cheese Books

This whimsical, quirky story about friends helping each other is great reading! The illustrations are FANTASTIC, the storyline is very engaging ... My 10-yr-old son and 7-yr-old daughter [as well as me!] absolutely love it!

Very entertaining, with a great lesson about the benefits of working as a team. You'll want to add this book to your collection.

The illustrations in this book are exceptional. There are so many 3-D details from the life-like expressions on the characters' faces (Iggy's face as he's trying to reinflate hot dogs with a bicycle pump is priceless!)to the crumbs of cheese on Gruntly's workshop floor to the labels on the jars of Iggy's buggy bits. The story line is entertaining and has a good message about the importance of working together to achieve goals, yet it isn't preachy nor does it talk down to kids. And there is just the right amount of grossness to really appeal to kids (stinky toes, bug parts, dirty socks). It's the kind of book you can read over and over and not get tired of, because you find something new each time. I bought one for my neice and my co-worker's son.

Great characters, story, and fun illustrations entertain my 4 year old daughter. Silly enough to keep me entertained through numerous bedtime readings. It has high rotation in our house.

The story is rich with details. I loved the lighthouse on the prairie. My two boys were constantly quizzing me on the sillyness. The animation is breath taking. I fell in love with Gruntly and anyone who knows me, knows I dislike mice greatly! So, when is the next one?

I have not seen a children's book with as detailed and exciting computer illustrations as this.

The guys who make Veggie Tales present Mr. Gruntly Fromage, a mouse, and the Reverend Ignatious O. Bumblesmog a frog who looks something like a snake with long wool knit socks.

In this adventure, Iggy and Gruntly work on their cheese sculptor and stinky socks.

This highly original, delightful tale mixes the gentle friendship of "Frog and Toad Together" with the silliness of Dr. Suess, with a dash of Shel Silverstein tossed in.

I fully recommend "The Great Cheese Squeeze" Bryan Ballinger and Keith Lango.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

After reading this book aloud to my second grade class, I served up different kinds of cheese! The kids loved it (since their mouths were watering for cheese after listening and seeing Schindler's tasty looking illustrations!).An outstanding slice of obscure history! Editor Melanie Kroupa is an expert at delivering great, obscure stories from history (see STEAMBOAT by Judith Heide Gilliland).Outstanding storytelling!

I have read this book to my two grandsons (Brooks nearly 4 and Pierce nearly 3 yrs old) and their interest and response to this book has been fun and surprising. The story interests them and the art illustrates the story very well. They enjoy finding the characters from the story in the associated pictures. Phineas Dobbs' grumbling has become an inside family joke. The boys go around the house often repeating his comment, "I told you, it can't be done!" while placing their arms across their chest.

The book has provoked them to ask many questions which has proved to be a good teaching opportunity as well.

They read everytime before naptime and bedtime and they have insisted that this book be included each time for about three weeks now. I highly recommend this book for reading to children 3 years old and up.

In this true tale of a tremendous cheddar, Candace Fleming asks: "What weighs 1,234 pounds, stands four feet high, and is made from the milk of nine hundred and thirty-four cows?"

"Why, a giant cheese of course!"

When President Thomas Jefferson was serving Norton cheese at the White House, Elder John Leland suggested that everyone could help make a whopping big cheddar, a cheese so large that President Jefferson would be serving Cheshire cheese at the White House for years and years!

After gathering all the milk and making the cheese curds, they had to press the curds in an apple press. Finally they haul the cheese in a wagon to ripen in Elder John's barn. To get the cheese to President Jefferson's New Year's Day party, they have to put it on a sleigh and take it to Hudson, New York. Finally it sails down the Hudson River and is then carted on a sleigh to Washington.

Apparently, the cheese was served for years and someone said it lasted until 1805.

Just by the way, cheddar curds can't be beat. Give me the curds
instead of the pressed cheese any day!

Cute story for young cheese lovers.

If you love cheese, look for Paula Lambert's Cheese Lover's Cookbook & Guide. She explains how cheese is made and even includes recipes.

~The Rebecca Review

Historical fact: On January 1, 1801, Elder John Leland, a Baptist minister, delivered a 1,235-pound wheel of Cheshire cheese to Thomas Jefferson as a gift of gratitude for Jefferson 's support of religious freedom.

Candace Fleming has taken this little-known detail and turned it into a deliciously delightful little "Tale of a Tremendous Cheddar."

In Fleming's story the villagers of Cheshire (makers of mouthwatering cheese) heard news "that threatened to sour their curds forever." President Thomas Jefferson was serving cheese made in Norton, Connecticut ! Not to be outdone, Elder John Leland convinced the residents of Cheshire to put their curds together, along with one day's milking from each of their cows and create a "whopping big cheddar."

Easier said than done the villagers soon realized. They had to resort of using a huge apple press to squeeze the whey from the curds. Then, the local blacksmith had to make a huge, custom-forged hoop to hold the cheese. Their efforts paid off however. Once finished, they had on their hands a 1,235 pound, four-foot tall round of cheddar.

After letting the cheese ripen, Elder John and the ever-doubting Phineas Dobbs set off to deliver the mammoth cheese to Jefferson. Sledding and sailing their way to Washington, the duo finally arrive at the nation's capital amid trumpets, banners, and gaggles of gawkers.

Jefferson, after cutting into cheddar and tasting it, declared it to be "The best you can serve at your table."

Fleming serves up a terrific treat. The tale is charmingly told and fun to read. Schindler's pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings are filled with period details and humorous touches.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff

What makes this book so terrific for me is that I live in thetown adjacent to Cheshire, MA, and I have family that live inCheshire. We've always seen the cheese press in the center of town, but were only vaguely familiar with its history. Now, with this beautiful picture book, I can share the story with the children in my life. I wonder how Ms. Fleming, who lives in Chicago, happened upon this story?

My students really enjoyed this book. They laughed out loud in response to the humor. Several students asked me to read it to the class again. Many students read it themselves more than once. Several students were inspired to commit themselves to weight redustion.

I gave this book five stars, which I consider a very good rating, because it has all the qualities necessary for a good children's book- great pictures, vivid words, and even a moral at the end. Mr. Garrison is from my hometown, and I acquired this out-of-print book when I was young. It was always my favorite children's book.

The title intrigued me, then the characters drew me in to this fantastic page-turner of a book. I found myself identifying with aspects of each character because they are all so real and human. Miss Scaperrotta is a gifted writer and I look forward to reading evey book she ever writes, which I hope will be many.

This is an excellent book which quickly became a library favorite for my daughter.
A mouse finds a big cheese and eats it all up. The first five pages are odd-shaped and resemble a cheese. As the mouse eats the cheese, bite marks appear and the pages get smaller until there are only crumbs. The next page is full size hiding the surprise pop-up ending.
The pop-up is very well done. It jumps out of the book and is larger that the page size emphasizing the difference in mouse sizes.
Several things appeal to me as a parent. The metaphor 'eat up and get big' is expressed humorously. The various words used to describe eating change on each page. The odd-shaped pages are easy for little fingers to find, turn and resist sticking together. And Big and Small are demonstrated but not over-emphasized.
This is the first in a four book series including: "The Green Leaf", "The Fuzzy Peach", and "The Silver Dandelion".

My 2 year old loves this book. It is both cute & funny. The book has great pictures & a cute storyline. Everyone can enjoy reading this with their young children. One of the best BBB books we've read yet.

The "Step into Reading" books have been a staple in our house, especially any that involve Disney characters. "The Big Cheese" has proved time and again to be a hit with both of my sons, who at ages 2 and 4 have an easy time sitting through this fun adaption of "Ratatouille."

The story, of course, focuses on Remy's rise from grub-sniffing rat to acclaimed Parisian chef, but takes time along the way to explain how Remy feels about his family, his friends and his love of cooking. Good times for all.

This is a fun book to read to my kids, with a good story and some words and concepts that are challenging to my kids, such as "chef" and "Paris". On the downside, I don't think the illustrations are as realistic as I would like to see, and another downside to the illustrations is that I can't easily point out the links between the words and the illustrations.
Although the text is very well written, my understanding with kids is that they don't work well with fast-paced change, and because of that, there are too many different jumps from one movie scene to another for me to be more than 50% (3 stars) comfortable with the book as a parent.

"Remy was a rat. His job was to smell the garbage. He made sure it was safe to eat. But Remy did not like his job." -- From the book

In June 2007, Disney/Pixar will be releasing the animated movie Ratatouille (pronounced rat-a-too-ee) which pairs a chef named Linguini who can't cook--with a Rat named Remy who CAN...and quite brilliantly, it turns out.

The Big Cheese chronicles Remy's rise from the garbage dumps to the kitchen of the fine restaurant Gusteau's in Paris--all the while avoiding the head chef who obviously DOESN'T want a rat in his fine restaurant!

In the meantime, Remy tries to teach Linguini how to cook while avoiding detection. (The food critic, Ego, loves the food--but who REALLY makes the dish?! Too funny--a food critic named Ego!)

This is a Step 2 "Step Into Reading" book by Random House and is geared towards ages 5-6 and up. Step 2 books have basic vocabulary, short sentences and simple stories so they're great for beginner readers--and for bedtime stories!

My son loves this colorful book (he read it to ME before bedtime!), but if you (or your child) don't want to know some of the events in Ratatouille, you may want to wait until AFTER you see the movie to get it.

This was the biggest waste of money ever! Not one bit of usable information! Every page just drips with self promotion and advertisements. Find some where else to spead your hard earned money!

This book has absolutely no meat and is simply a marketing ploy. Do not make the same mistake I did in buying this book! The price only further angers me in the fact that the author should have been paying me to read it. It is mere marketing, nothing more, nothing less.

With all of the real estate gurus out there, anyone could get this free from most of them. To pay for this is crazy! Don't waste your money. It's a very thin paperback and written in big print! I can't believe a publisher would even print this! Her main purpose is to get you to sign up for her program which of course is tons of money!

Whenever I buy a book, I expect to learn something. What Rachel Young did in Subprime Real Estate Profits is the profits are still a secret. The purchaser of the book needs to pay $1,100.00 more to learn the secret, maybe? The book explains a lot about her life, but no Real Estate Profits revealed. The 103 page book only made that many pages because of the large font size and white areas between paragraphs. I would not recommend this book to anyone, unless they want a discount to join her club.

There are only 2 kinds of people that would give this book a decent review.

1. Rachel Young's Staff and
2. Rachel Young herself.

As a Pre-foreclosure investor, I was thrilled when I read the title. "Subprime Real Estate PROFITS. How to become a Millionaire in 18 months or less using Subprime Real Estate!"

Now I certainly wasn't expecting this book to make me a Millionaire, I mean lets be real. But I was excepting to learn SOMETHING.

I was very disappointed when the book arrived. The first thing I noticed was how skinny the book was. To be frank, book is not the proper word... A pamphlet or brochure would be a better description. When I opened the book and saw the LARGE font, it was at that moment, I realized I just wasted $26.00.

This book is nothing more that a sales brochure. It doesn't give any substance at all. It's filled with stories from her past and it talks a little bit about what is hapening in today's market. (But you don't need this book to figure that out.)

If you really want to learn something, you have to spend $1200 for her course. I would very weary of handing over $1200 to a person who uses such deceptive business practices.

Maybe I should write a book that says: "Learn how to make millions. How I went from zero to Hero in 12 months." Then I would go about telling you about how much money you can make and tell you how it sucks to be poor. But if you really want to know how to make millions, you need to buy my course that cost $1200.

Now if I wrote that book and you bought it, how would you feel after you read it? Would you trust me enough to spend $1200 of your hard earned money to find out what I had to say?

For those of you out there, who are the hard-headed type, like I am. I'll sell you my copy for $5.00. Even if your new to real estate I still wouldnt recommend this book. Your money is better spent elsewhere.

Don't believe me, look at the table of contents and see if you can find the "How to" portion of the book. You wont find it, because its not there. Unfortunately, I bought this book the same day it was released and the "look inside" feature was not available.

For those of you who don't belive me and want to buy this book. I would recommend you go to a bookstore and look at it first! If you like it then buy it. But something tells me this book will be sold strickly online. That way, by the time you realize its full of fluff, its too late, you've already spent your money.