Who Moved My Cheese For Teens

Who Moved My Cheese?

by Spencer Johnson

Teenagers' lives are full of change and this simple book will help them cope with the unique problems that face them every day, such as doing well at school, making career decisions, dealing with parents, relationships and dating, feeling good about themselves and being positive about the future.

A group of teenagers are worried about changes in their lives. To help them out, Chris tells the story of Who Moved My Cheese. Four characters, Hem, Haw, Sniff and Scurry, search through a maze for cheese, to nourish them and make them happy, but soon the cheese runs out. Sniff and Scurry go off in search for more, but Hem and Haw stay to work out what went wrong and wait for more cheese. Eventually, Haw realises that no new cheese is coming, so he sets out into the maze and eventually finds new cheese. The group then discusses the story, finding ways to apply it to their own lives.

Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens is an essential book for teenagers – an entertaining parable that reveals profound truths and insights that will last a lifetime.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology, Business, Teen, Management, Inspirational

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Patrick Spencer Johnson was an American writer. He was known for the ValueTales series of children's books, and for his 1998 self-help book Who Moved My Cheese?, which recurred on the New York Times Bestseller list, on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list. Johnson was the chairman of Spencer Johnson Partners.

Reviews

[Shaimaa شيماء · Rating 3 out of 5]

مش عارفة ليه أغلبنا عنده خوف كبير جدا من التغيير، حتى لو عايش حياة بائسة، عشان كده بنلاقي دايما اعتراض شديد على أي حاجة بتتغير.. حتى لو كنا بنشتكي منها!!!!

دايما بنتوقع الأسوأ..

كمان بنلاقي أغلب النصايح تخلينا نفضل زي ما احنا، البلد دي أحسن من غيرها، مثل شائع جدا، يخليك متفكرش اصلا، وعلى رأي أحمد حلمي في فيلم عسل أسود.. مين قالك إن البلد دي أحسن من غيرها...
جرب كده تقول لحد إنك عاوز تسيب شغلك أو تسافر او تنفصل أو تتحرك من مكانك هتلاقي أول رد لأ خليك أحسن حتى لو عارف ومتأكد إنك مش مبسوط وتعيس..

فعلا التغيير عاوز شجاعة، لكن التغيير لازم يحصل لو مكنش بمزاجك هيبقى غصب عنك، عشان مفيش حاجة بتفضل على حالها، فخليك شجاع وخليك مرن واتحرك بسرعة مضيعش وقت في ليه حصل وإزاي حصل وانتهز الفرصة وخليك مبادر.

[josie hoover · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sometimes, Hem, things change and they are never the same again. This looks like one of those times. Thats life! Life moves on. And so should we.”

this is my biggest takeaway:
your fear of failure is what is causing you to fail. sure you might fail even when you try, but if you sit with your fear and think about how scared you are, nothing will change except you becoming immobilized, and more and more afraid.

“…what you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine.”

i liked how it wasn’t the boring self help book i excepted. the real life aspect of the “cheese maze” being a story and then the people who were told the story reflecting on it was a really thoughtful aspect to add.

i wouldn’t have read it if it wasn’t for school and i probably won’t read it again, but it’s a very good message (that you can interpret how you want) and the self-interpretation makes it accessible, relatable, and helpful to anyone who reads it.

4/5⭐️

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book and the message it's trying to send but at the same time we have to realise that not every change is a 'good change', so it really depends on what you're talking about because this meaning differs in every situation. Sometimes sticking to something and having hope can get you what you want as long as you work hard for it. Also, just because its a 'new cheese' doesn't make it a good one.

[Батзориг · Rating 2 out of 5]

***

Spencer Johnson: Bazo, do you agree having cheese makes you happy?

Bazo: I am not sure what that "cheese" means to me.

Spencer Johnson: I know, i know. My aim wasn't discuss with you about your "cheese". You will find it out with yourself, I cannot help on that. But, do you agree, Having cheese makes you happy?

Bazo: If you say that cheese is my ""uncertain but ultimate wish", i have to say, Yes.

Spencer Johnson: Great, son. Do you have your cheese?

Bazo: No, sir. Somebody must have moved it :/

Spencer Johnson: Go find it.

Bazo: Is that all? I bought your book, i thought you will give me some mature advice.

Spencer Johnson: Go find your cheese

End of discussion

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good at teaching about change and how to move with it. I think that it was a little elementary though.

[Sarah Odonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who moved my cheese?
By: Spencer Johnson
Date published: 2002
Genre: Non-fiction

This book is basically about a group of friends who are going through a change at school with their schedule. Some of the kids are ready to change, but some are not. So, one of the kids decided to tell them a story. The story was about two mice sniff and scurry. It is also about two little people named Haw and Hem. Sniff is the type of mouse who sniffs out the situation and figures out what happened and scurry is the type of mouse who scurries into action. While Haw takes his time to change and Hem who does not like to move on and denies the fact that he needs to change. The two little people and the two mice live in a huge maze and while they looked for cheese one day they came across cheese station c. They thought they were going to have this cheese for the rest of their lives, but day after day they notice the cheese pile is getting smaller until one day all the cheese was gone. Sniff and Scurry decided to go out and look for cheese while Hem and Haw waited around for someone to put more cheese in cheese station c. Then one day Haw decided that no one was going to put more cheese in chees station C so he decided to go look for more cheese. Hem did not want to go with him he was comfortable in cheese station c. Haw tried to convince Hem to come with him but then realized that he cannot force Hem to come. After looking through the maze for cheese Haw discovered even more cheese then cheese station c and a better variety of cheese. He then found sniff and scurry where there to! He always wondered if Hem would ever come around and realized that change can be better.

The theme of this story is change. If you just stand around complaining about change it will make the situation worse. You cannot be afraid to change you just have to go with it and be positive! The kids of this story all have different fears about change and all go through different things. When you hear about all the changes they go through it helps you change. One example from the book is that one of the kids parents got divorced when he was really little and never moved on from it and it was only making the situation worse. Another example is there was a really negative girl in the story who never wanted to change and it made her more miserable. One more example is about all the kids heard this story they all instantly wanted to change and looked at all their situations differently.

I would really recommend this book to teenagers because it gives you a good story about just a few kids going through change. This book really makes you look at situation differently and helps you get through changes. This book is different from all the other books I read because most of the books I read do not really teach me anything but this book really did change me.
The writing style of this book is very readable and simple. Everything the author is saying I can relate to and the author makes the story easy to read because it is understanding.

A quote from this book is on page 36 “The more important your cheese is to you the more you want it.” I picked quote because it shows you that the book is very understandable and you can really relate to it because you just have to think about what is your cheese.
My relationship to this book was a very good one. I read this book at a perfect time because I'm going through a lot of changes in my life right now and at first I did not want to change and I kind of sat around and just denied that I had to change but then I read this book and wanted to change. I really enjoyed hearing all the different stories the children were going through and how they were handing them. I really recommend this book.

[Vikram Venkatesan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't even realize there were separate versions 'For Teens', 'For Kids', etc.

Anyways, I was required to read this book in my Communications class. Maybe I might have read this when I was young but I don't honestly remember. This book boasts important life lessons in the style of a children's book.

Change is one adversity in life that many still struggle to deal with let alone overcome. Whether it's in school or college, with family or with coworkers, change can be present in many specific scenarios and is ever present in our lives generally-speaking. So the book presents how to move about change using a simple analogy.

It's easy to be a critic for this book. Some of life's problems can't always be as simple as putting fear aside and doing something. Each person has their own share of issues and critics often say that there are always positive ways to think about. In my opinion, sometimes it's not practical to always be happy-go-lucky. In other words, certain problems should allow one to be justifiably upset. But the book is right to not dwell on such issues.

The important thing is to never settle or get complacent whenever possible. If you haven't put your best effort, then you haven't done enough on your part to improve the situation or issue. When do you put your best foot forward and still things don't get much better, you should generally have more acceptance of the situation and try to move on. It doesn't do a person well to dwell on the negatives for longer than they need to be. There's always a balance and if anything, it solidified that idea and train of thought when I read it!!

[Parker Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about how to deal with change. In the story, some friends are having lunch, and one boy tells them a story about how to deal with change. In the story, there were 2 mice, and 2 little people, who were just mice-like creatures. All four of them ate at their cheese station happily. But one day, the cheese station ran out of cheese. The two mice noticed what was happening and quickly looked for a solution. The two little people kept coming to the empty cheese station, expecting someone else to fix all of their problems instead of going out and doing it themselves. Finally, one of the little people decided to go look for the new cheese station. It took him a while, but after a long time, he finally found it and the mice were already there eating it. Always notice your problems early, and quickly react to them to fix it instead of complaining and waiting for something easier.

[Hanaa Hany · Rating 5 out of 5]

ليتني لم أكن مثل هِمْ في يوم من الأيام






الاقتباسات من قناة بوح الكتب على اليوتيوب**

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this with my 10 year old son as a personal development assignment from his tae kwon do instructor and LIKED it! What a valuable lesson for kids, teens and adults. Actually the sooner you learn the lesson the easier and more enjoyable life becomes.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction with the teens talking was unrealistic. The messages are good but didn't enjoy the way the book was written.

[Jodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, but needs more Comedy

[Leen al sahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read it, it is very good for when you dont know what to do
;)

[Nora T E]

This book was interesting. It wasn't really my type of book but it had some good aspects to it. It's kind of about all of these different personalities of 4 different mice. It showed how depending which personality mice you are or acting like in that moment, it affects the way you accept change. I connected to it, because sometimes I'm afraid of change which is one personality, sometimes I love it, sometimes it also makes me angry, and sometimes it's hard to move on from change. The last one I connected to, wasn't really in the book, but that's what happens to me sometimes. So, I was wondering that even if you have a "negative" reaction to something, does that mean it won't turn out good?

[Adysnewbox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short and sweet book that feels a lot like an oversized self-help pamphlet. I confess that I never read the "full" version of "Who Moved My Cheese?", so I will not be able to compare the two. The book consists of a very corny (cheesy? Pun intended?) frame story featuring teenagers who talk like infomercial actors. One of the teens proceeds to share with his friends the "parable of the Cheese," which I can tell author Spencer Johnson is VERY PROUD of. It's a nice enough parable (even if the character names are a little cringe-y). Afterwards, the teenagers discuss the parable and how it can apply to their lives. They continue to talk like infomercial characters throughout. And that's pretty much it.

The "parable of the Cheese," in layman's terms, is about how we react when facing unexpected changes or challenges...particularly when those changes/challenges involve us losing something we value. Do we sit idly by and complain? Do we wait for new opportunities to come our way, or do we actively go out and seek those opportunities? What sorts of attitudes should we cultivate when dealing with these changes? These are some of the main questions the Cheese parable attempts to answer. I think all the self-reflection is nice, and I'm sure that the way the parable is presented will really resonate with some people...but it didn't affect me all that strongly. Maybe because I'm an old jaded woman, or maybe it's because I approach self-help a little differently. But I never had a huge "A-HA!" moment while reading it; much of the content seemed self-evident to me.

That said, the advice in the book is good, and it's flexible enough to allow for many different personality types to adapt it to their own needs. I think it's good to remember that difficult times come to us all, and it's important for us to anticipate those times and evaluate how we will react in the face of trial or opposition. It's a book that preaches preparedness and emotional flexibility. Since I'm currently in the middle of a pandemic, that advice is especially relevant! Hopefully this book will help some teens get in touch with those feelings and tune their emotional responses appropriately.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember in 2002 when this (the adult version) was the book everyone was talking about at faculty meetings; my boss kept referring to the "cheese" and how we needed to move with it. I never did read the book (I was a single mom of a toddler and going to school online at night when he was asleep, so reading just wasn't happening much). When I saw that our library had a teen version, I thought I'd check out this LITE version, finally.

Well, it's a cute little parable to teach teens how to handle change in a healthy and positive way. It was so simple, and a little enjoyable, and it made me smile and remember things we all know to be true, like when one of the characters refuses to adapt to change and starts wasting away. Here's the "handwriting on the wall:" Change happens, anticipate change, monitor change, adapt to it quickly, change! (go along with the new and forget about your old ideas and old life), enjoy the change and repeat. There's also quite a bit about facing fears and being on your game and actively pursuing dreams.

My only complaint is that there's a lot of cheese in this book, both in content and tone. Not sure how effective it will be as a self-help book for teens--will they find it too cheesy? Either way, I liked the book, and it's worth reviewing often!

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great young-adult adaption of the famous "dealing with change" novel of the same name. The main difference is that this version goes beyond the extended metaphor and is framed by a story about teenagers who are experiencing a change at school. One student shares the story of the mice in the maze, then the students all discuss the "old cheese" in their lives. I liked how this version related the story to real-life teenage situations that kids find stressful through their discussions of how they could have done things differently and how they can move forward. Selfishly, I loved revisiting the lessons learned in this book. I remembered that I liked the book but had forgotten how much I liked the delivery style of the story.

[Eman · Rating 3 out of 5]

إِنّي رَأَيتُ وُقوفَ الماءِ يُفسِدُهُ
إِن ساحَ طابَ وَإِن لَم يَجرِ لَم يَطِبِ

وَالأُسدُ لَولا فِراقُ الأَرضِ ما افتَرَسَت
وَالسَهمُ لَولا فِراقُ القَوسِ لَم يُصِبِ

وَالشَمسُ لَو وَقَفَت في الفُلكِ دائِمَةً
لَمَلَّها الناسُ مِن عُجمٍ وَمِن عَرَبِ

وَالتِبرُ كَالتُربِ مُلقىً في أَماكِنِهِ
وَالعودُ في أَرضِهِ نَوعٌ مِنَ الحَطَبِ

فَإِن تَغَرَّبَ هَذا عَزَّ مَطلَبُهُ
وَإِن تَغَرَّبَ ذاكَ عَزَّ كَالذَهَبِ


إن اشتهر لدى الغرب هذا الكتاب، فقد اشتهرت لدى العرب هذه القصيدة، التي قالها الإمام الشافعي، بأسلوبٍ وجيزٍ فصيحٍ

[Fenny Luthra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh this is driving. Amazing, Must read!

If you are going through any negativity in life, if you are feeling low, if you are down, if the confidence is loosing, if you know you have the potential, here is the remedy that changes you as a person, GO for It!

And then you will know, You have the ability and that you are to be that 'HAW' in your life.

Enjoy, Cheers!

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. This is an adaptation of the original, which was written for adults, but still fantastic. All teenagers should read this once a year or so to remind themselves to be optomistic, the world is not coming to an end!

[Kishore Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for all the teens or nevertheless for younger generation folks. The books conveys the message how to adopt to changes and how to react when change occurs in one's life, this has been explained with a small story. Over all very crisply and explicitly said about change in our lives.

[SahooraQ · Rating 3 out of 5]

هي تنمية ذاتية على صيغة قصة..أسلوب جميل لجذب المراهقين وتوصيل المفاهيم إليهم..الكتاب بمثابة الدليل لفهم متغيرات الحياة وطرق التعامل مع هذا التغيير..كتاب رائع هذا الجيل الذي يتعرض لتغيرات كثيرة وكبيرة وسريعة في آن واحد..

[Judith]

From this book I learned to look forward to changes rather than resist and evade them. Change is constant anyway.

[Shivali]

still left to read half....

[Gyvinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple story with big message about changes in life. Good book but overrated.

[Huda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book.I've learnt about how to improve yourself by not taking yourself too seriously, being a good listener and facing your fears. This book has taught me a lo.

[Farah Neemat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The moral is great. It is relevant to everyday life, and I suggest everyone reads it. 👍🏻🦄❤️🤩

[Tsana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Food for thought

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Fun story. Lots of life lessons. Made palatable by a fable.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a kid my mom had this book and I read it in one day and loved it!! Very powerful analogy I think more people need to read this