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Judith Viorst, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Page history last edited by Lisa Gordis 16 years, 2 months ago

Bibliographical information:

Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Illus. Ray Cruz. New York: Aladdin, 1972.

 

Brief summary:

Alexander is having  a terrible day, from morning to night. He wakes up with gum in his hair, has arguments with friends at school, knocks stuff over at his father's office, fights with his brothers, and is beset by all sorts of other woes. His plan is to move to Australia, which he tells people at various points throughout the day. When he's tucked into bed (in the pajamas he hates),  his mother comforts him that "some days are like that. Even in Australia."

 

Comments:

I always think of this as a book everyone knows, but last week I saw a child's gum pop out of her mouth and land on the top of her head. My daughter and I had been reading Alexander the night before, and she had asked how you would get gum in your hair, but I hadn't imagined that scenario. It turned out that the gum-chewing child had never seen this book, which everyone in my family loves. The book is funny, but it also takes Alexander's grievances seriously, and the summation that "some days are like that" doesn't deny his frustration.

 

The New York Times recently ran an article called "Alexander, Mom, and the Very Messy Stay," about a summer-long visit by grown-up Alexander and his three kids. Viorst has published an account of it in a new book called Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days: An Almost Completely Honest Account of What Happened to Our Family When Our Youngest Son, His Wife, Their Baby, Their Toddler, and Their Five-Year-Old Came to Live with Us for Three Months.

 

Grade/Age level:

Age 3-7

 

Cautions:

 

If you like this book, you might also like . . .

 

--Lisa Gordis

 

 

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