Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens by Spencer Johnson

Part storytelling, part self help- Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens tells two tales which emphasize the same goal, dealing with change. The book is divided into three parts. It begins with the story of a group of high school students coping with some big changes at their school. One of the students, Chris, seems to be handling the situation better than the rest, so the other students ask Chris for his secret. This leads to the second part of the book, where Chris tells his friends the Who Moved My Cheese? story. In the last section of the book, Chris and his friends reflect on the story.

The book is a guide to getting students, as a class or independently, to look at change and how they handle it. It gives advice on how to become better at noticing the signs that change is on the horizon and adapting to it. The story is simple, yet if explored, can lead to deeper conversations about personality and how we react to situations we don’t necessarily have control over. A concise summary can be found every few pages in the telling of the Who Moved My Cheese? story. These summaries are helpful scaffolds for students reading independently. While the book delivers an obvious message, students may get much more out of the text with some guidance from a caring adult. I would recommend Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens to any teen who is looking for self help books, is dealing with big changes in their life, or has a difficult time dealing with issues that they have very little control over. --Claudio Leon

Johnson, Spencer. Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2002. Print.