In 1801, the good people of Cheshire, Massachusetts, were upset to hear the news that President Jefferson was serving cheese from Norton, Connecticut, rather than the better-known Cheshire cheese. Elder John came up with a creative solution: to create a cheese so large that it would last for the rest of Jefferson’s administration. All the townspeople worked together to produce an enormous wheel of cheese weighing 1235 pounds and standing four feet high. And their plan, of course, worked: it’s reported that the cheese was still being eaten in 1805. This little-known, slightly bizarre chapter of U.S. history is brought to life with charm and humor in a picture book that stresses the manner in which the entire community worked together to accomplish a single goal. (Ages 5-9)

In 1801, the proud citizens of Cheshire, Massachusetts, boasted that their cheese was the very best. But then they heard the shocking news: President Jefferson was serving Norton cheese at the White House! What to do? Elder John Leland had an idea. A very large idea. If everyone worked together, they could make a cheese so large that President Jefferson would be serving Cheshire cheese at the White House for years to come. How the villagers of Cheshire create a true cheese-making miracle and transport it to the nation's capitol makes a spirited, rollicking tale.

Based on a true moment in American history, this funny picture book celebrates the ingenuity and community spirit of one small New England town as it attempts to make the country's biggest cheese for the nation's greatest man.