The Little Old Man and the Keywzies" is a paperback children's short chapter book telling the story of how a small man named Ding gets lost in a sandstorm and meets big, fast, colorful animals called Keywzies. He refuses their friendship at first but when they save him from being lost in the desert forever Ding and the Keywzies become very good friends. They go to the Keywzies' mountain to live until Ding gets homesick. They agree to bring him home, but on the way they discover and are taken captive by an army that is invading China. They save China, get to Ding's house, and live there happily... that is, until they realize they can't stay there forever. They don't want to part so the Keywzies move Ding's small house to their mountain, where they live happily ever after.

An old toymaker never wanted to learn to read until his wife went away on a visit and he had to do the grocery shopping by himself.

While his wife is away, the little old man learns some of the tricks of housekeeping through trial and error.