Have Yourself a Cheesy Little Christmas

The Food Group #7.1

by Jory John, Pete Oswald (illustrator)

From the #1 New York Times bestselling creators of the Food Group series comes a Christmas picture book featuring the ever-popular character the Big Cheese. Perfect for holiday promotions, this book includes a tear sheet of twelve holiday cards and festive foil on the cover.

Every December, the Big Cheese hosts a gigantic jamboree with flashy decorations, sparkling outfits, extravagant gifts, ear-bursting music, and jaw-dropping entertainment. It's the #1 party in town and it can't be beat!

But this holiday season, mere hours before the festivities, disaster strikes! With no backup plan in place, the Big Cheese must call in a big favor to help save the big day. But will Christmas still be Christmas if it's not quite so grand?

You don’t want to miss this hilarious, charming, and thought-provoking continuation of Jory John and Pete Oswald’s bestselling Food Group series.

Genres: Picture Books, Christmas, Childrens, Holiday, Fiction, Humor, Fantasy

48 pages, Hardcover

Published September 16, 2025

About the author

Jory John is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and two-time E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor recipient.

Jory's work includes the #1 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Good Egg, and the #2 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Bad Seed, both illustrated by Pete Oswald. He is also the author of the popular picture books, Penguin Problems and Giraffe Problems, both illustrated by Lane Smith, the award-winning Goodnight Already! series, illustrated by Benji Davies, the New York Times bestselling Terrible Two series, the recent picture books Quit Calling Me a Monster! (with Bob Shea), Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back? (with Liz Climo), and the international bestseller, All my friends are dead, among many other books for both children and adults.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute of course!

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reallllly long; would not recommend for Storytime.

[Bri]

another class favorite!!!!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big Cheese loves to throw lavish Christmas parties with stunning decorations, fancy snacks, and exciting activities. But when his washer breaks down and floods his house, he must spend his time cleaning up leaving no time to prepare for the party. In desperation he calls his friend, Wedge, who promises to get a party together in his place. While the party is nowhere near as big as what Cheese planned, it turns out to be fun in all it's simplicity despite Cheese's initial bafflement. With his trademark storytelling and Oswald's delightfully fun illustrations, Jory John presents readers with a sweet reminder of the value of taking the time to simply enjoy the holiday without exhausting yourself with elaborate celebrations. The book does come with 12 holiday cards. Recommended.

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this picture book from the Food Group Series, the Big Cheese is planning a Christmas party. With Big Cheese everything must be the biggest, the best, the funniest and the tastiest. Humorous illustrations and fun text detail the big bold party he is planning. However, when a washing machine disaster leads to destruction, his party plans are ruined. With help from his friend Wedge Wedgeman, a new venue, which is simple and cozy, proves to be wonderful. Big Cheese soon realizes Christmas is about time with friends and not about the glitz. Children will laugh and learn and think about what Christmas means to them.

[✨Little Lit Lady✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little one and I loved this story. The narrator did an excellent job projecting all the feelings Cheese was feeling. Loved the message sent about Christmas being a time spend quality time with family, Wedge saved the day!. My little one kept repeating after the narrator and that’s how i know he loved it! Can’t wait to get the physical book for my little one to enjoy during the holiday season. Thank you @NetGalley for allowing my little one and I enjoy this fantastic book.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Cheese invites readers in as he prepares for and gives the biggest, most extravagant Christmas party. He shares all of the glitz and stunning decor, entertainment, and presents from past parties. Then, disaster strikes, and his house is a wreck. He calls his friend Wedge for help. Wedge shows a simpler way to have fun together and enjoy simply chatting and relaxing. Big Cheese reflects on what Christmas is really about, but I love the ending where he shows real self awareness.

[Sarah Alamer]

We're so proud of you for reading this wonderful book! You learned something really special—that the best part of Christmas isn't fancy decorations or big gifts. It's spending time with people we love. Just like how Wedge helped Big Cheese understand, the most important thing is being together, talking, and having fun with family and friends. You can remember this at our family gatherings too. Simple moments together make the happiest memories. Well done, sweetheart!

[TheRetiredSchoolLibrarian |Mrs. Ferraris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: The Big Cheese is preparing to host another one of his extravagant, over-the-top Christmas parties when his washing machine overflows and ruins everything. He calls a friend who offers to host the party in his place. The Big Cheese is unsure about having a quiet and cozy gathering with his friends instead.

Comments: I love Jory John's humor, and this one is included.

The holiday cards inside are actually gift tags.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

[Lou Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to keep it simple: It's a christmas book where the main character is cheese- why wouldn't you read it? It was absolutely brilliant.

If you hop over to Youtube you can read along with @ storytimeoutloud who has a slightly animated version up. I will be buying a copy at some point because the fact we have a christmas book for kids about cheese- what is not to love? It's unexpected, uncanny, and pretty humorous.

Brilliant combination of christmas, cheese and humour.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Big Cheese has to relocate his holiday party to his friend Wedge's house at the last minute, he learns that a simple gathering can be as much fun as an elaborate celebration.

This story embodies the belief that what matters most on holidays is spending quality time with family and friends rather than presents, decorations, party favors, and entertainment. The moral is that less is sometimes more.

[Shauna Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Cheese is very braggadocious and does understand the point of Christmas at the beginning of this book. I love that Big Cheese learns a lesson and acknowledges that he isn't going to change overnight.

Cary Hite did a fantastic job of bringing this character to life.

This audiobook would be a wonderful companion as a read-along to the picture book.

[Rubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute, but the Big Cheese did come across as someone with a bad attitude of showing off 😅
That being said, the message came across with a cute lesson on how sometimes simple is best. Being in the moment and having fun with friends could be just as fulfilling as recieving and giving expensive gifts 😊

[Tweller83 · Rating 4 out of 5]

12/5/25: This is a Christmas installment in the Food Group series which I'm trying to read all of. I don't think I'll try to read the "easy readers" installments, but all the main ones I'm trying to read. This one was a great installment taking about the excesses of this time of year and that simple is sometimes just as good. I really liked it and think my grandchild will too.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally, I like this author (& illustrator) but reading this overly longggggg Christmas picture book to students at a Catholic elementary school & saying maybe Christmas is really about...well, I didn't expect it to be religious but for such a long book, I had hoped for better/deeper meaning or at least more introspection (I know, I'm talking about a big cheese, lol).

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for teaching kids to be humble, asking for help, and respecting differences. However, it’s sort of a meh story as the main character is annoying. The illustrations are nice and it’s not a very lengthy book so easy to get through. Overall, would rate it 3/5 stars ⭐️ and recommend for ages 4 and up.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The absolute best Christmas book for those of us who don't celebrate (much if at all). And I absolutely love the vocabulary, especially in regards to feelings. How often do you see words like voila and content in picture-books?

I would buy this as a Christmas present for young families if I knew any.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Big Cheese is planning another over the top amazing Christmas party. His competitive edge is showing again. But when mishap after mishap ruins his house and his plans, he seeks help from his lowkey and humble friend Wedge Wedgeman.

[Shireen Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a copy of this in my book mail. It has a positive message of togetherness and humility. The little cutout Holiday cards in the bag are a great bonus.
Thank you HarperCollins/HarperKids!

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Christmas story about a Cheese that goes all out on celebrations but he has an emergency and has to ask a friend to help him host his Christmas celebration.
He realized that he doesn’t need an over the top party to be able to enjoy and share with friends.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The Big Cheese usually throws an over the top memorable holiday party until this year when his washing machine breaks down and his house is a mess. He enlists the aid of his quieter friend, Wedge, so he doesn't need to cancel and is surprised at the result.

[Caydrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another great book. It was just released this past Christmas. The only down side is that it is a little lengthy- but I believe with the proper narration even young children will stay focused for the whole book. It teaches children a great message as well.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - lots of text

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important for all of us who love nothing more than a totally extra little Christmas. A gift from the book fair.

[Bridget Neace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute enough, but man this sucker was longer than it needed to be. But yay Christmas. :)

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an okay Christmas story. I liked that the "moral" was that bigger is not always better.

[ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

love love love the food group series especially at storytime but this one was running a little long for the attention spans of the kids i had this week

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book serves as a good reminder that not everything has to be big and flashy. I am not familiar with the

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long

[Geo Hendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s the best!