Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Author: Judith Viorst
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright: 1972
Pages: 28
Reading Level: 3
Genre: Picture Book
Rating: *****

Summary:
Alexander woke up…and everything from that point on made it a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. He tripped on his skateboard, his sweat fell in the sink and got all wet, everyone else got a surprise in their cereal box and that was in his was…cereal! So what does he do? He declares it a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and decides he will move to Australia. Things just keep going wrong, he had to sit in the middle of the carpool, he was declared Philips third best friend, his mother forgot to pack him a dessert for lunch and on top of all that…he is the only one the dentist finds a cavity in! To top it all off on the way home his brother makes him fall then makes fun of for crying…and who gets in trouble? Well he did, because of course his mother walked in at the wrong time and only saw him yelling. At the shoe store they didn’t have his shoe and he had to get all white ones…ssooooo not cool, and at his Father’s work he knocked the papers on and more. Finally the day is coming to a close, but not his bad day because, there are lima beans for dinner and kissing on tv both of which he hates. Along with his bath being too hot and having to wear his least favorite pajamas to bed. Going to bed he once more declares that today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day but, his Mom said some days are like that…even in Australia.

Who would benefit from reading this?
EVERY KID!! Along with anyone who is just having one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

Potential problems/conflicts:
The only problem I could see with this book is that it involves imagination on part of the audience because the pictures are not in color, honestly though you don’t even notice.

My reaction:
I love, love, love this book! It was one of my favorites as a child and still is. The pictures may not be in color, but the characters none the less are very real, and everyone can go down memory lane as the follow Alexander through his bad day. Even as an adult it is still nice to know that I am not alone, and that someone else out there had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day…but it’s okay, because some days are like that. Everyone can relate with Alexander and laugh as we see his day just go from bad to worse. I strongly suggest this book for every book collection out there whether yours is large or small!