Book Summary: Little Alexander truly has a bad day in this classic children's book. From the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed he believes that everyone is against him - including the cat. Alexander wakes up with gum in his hair, slips on his skateboard, doesn't get to sit up front even though he has car sickness, doesn't get the good pair of shoes, etc... Every couple of pages he gets so fed up with his life he says, "I think I'll move to Australia."
APA Reference: Viorst, Judith. (1987). Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Atheneum Books. New York, NY.
Impressions: My overall impression as a kid was one of, "Poor Alexander." As an adult my impression has changed- and I like that. Now I see Alexander as more of a cause and effect chain reaction. Alexander got gum in his hair because he slept with it in his mouth. He slipped on his skateboard because he forgot to put it up. He didn't get the prize in the breakfast cereal because he didn't get there in time. My entire perspective of this story changed to see the pattern of not being responsible. I'd want to move to Australia too if I had all of that happen in one day.
Professional Review: "I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."
So begin the trials and tribulations of the irascible Alexander, who has been earning the sympathy of readers since 1972. People of all ages have terrible, horrible days, and Alexander offers us the cranky commiseration we crave as well as a reminder that things may not be all that bad. As Alexander's day progresses, he faces a barrage of bummers worthy of a country- western song: getting smushed in the middle seat of the car, a dessertless lunch sack, a cavity at the dentist's office, stripeless sneakers, witnessing kissing on television, and being forced to sleep in railroad-train pajamas. He resolves several times to move to Australia.
Judith Viorst flawlessly and humorously captures a child's testy temperament, rendering Alexander sympathetic rather than whiny. Our hero's gum-styled hair and peevish countenance are artfully depicted by Ray Cruz's illustrations. An ALA Notable Book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a great antidote to bad days everywhere, sure to put a smile on even the crabbiest of faces.
[Review of Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Terrible-Horrible-Good-Very/dp/0689711735
Library Uses: This could be used for a lot of different purposes but I think I would use it to support curriculum with a cause and effect lesson. It could also be used to just talk about bad days we've had and the students could make connections to what they have had happen to them. I'd like to see if the students could create a page to add to the book- give another scenario that would add to the bad day.
