Bibliography
Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Illustrated by Ray Cruz. New York City: Scholastic, Inc, 1989 ISBN 9780590421447
Plot Summary
For Alexander, the day starts out bad when he wakes up with gum in his hair and things just continue down hill from there. His brothers find toys in their cereal and Alexander's cereal contains nothing but cereal. He has to sit in the middle of the back seat when he wants to sit by the window. His teacher likes another student’s drawing better than his imaginary drawing, the dentist finds a cavity in Alexander’s teeth, and the cat prefers to sleep with his brother instead of Alexander. Alexander says things are so bad he wants to move to Australia, but his mother tells him that even people in Australia have bad days.
Critical Analysis
The story is told from Alexander’s point of view. The sentence structure and wording choice has been carefully crafted to add authenticity with simple words and run on sentences. The story uses a repetitive phrase every couple of pages. The illustrations are very detailed black and white pencil sketches. My favorite part is Alexander’s expressions. The yuck face when people are kissing on TV, the sad face when he realizes his mother didn’t pack a dessert in his lunch, and the mad face when when he has to wear the hated railroad PJ’s are priceless.
Awards and Excerpts
ALA Notable Children’s Book
George G. Stone Center Recognition of Merit
Georgia Children's Book Award
Kirkus Reviews: If Alexander's mother is smart to offer casual sympathy without phoney consolation, Cruz and Viorst accord readers the same respect.
Connections
Other Books in the Alexander Series:
Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days
Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday
Alexander, Who Is Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move
Start a discussion on how you would handle a bad day. Listen to the song My Favorite Things http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td8rLo-us3c
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