Judith Viorst
Author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
About the Author
Judith Viorst was born in Newark, New Jersey on February 2, 1931. She graduated from Rutgers University (1952) and the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute (1981). She has written extensively, her works include children's books, collections of poetry, lyrics to musicals, several works of fiction, show more and a cookbook. She has won a Silver Pencil award (for The Tenth Good Thing About Barney) and an Emmy (for poems used in an Anne Bancroft TV special). (Bowker Author Biography) Judith Viorst is the bestselling author of "Forever Fifty," "How Did I Get to Be Forty," "Necessary Losses," & several other works. She is also the author of the classic children's book "Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." A graduate of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, she is the recipient of various awards for her journalism & psychological writings. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, political writer Milton Viorst. They have three sons. (Publisher Provided) show less
Image credit: Judith Viorst on May 2019
Series
Works by Judith Viorst
Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow (1986) 976 copies, 8 reviews
If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries: Poems for Children and their Parents (1981) — Author — 726 copies, 12 reviews
My Mama Says There Aren't Any Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Creatures, Demons, Monsters, Fiends, Goblins, or Things (1973) 666 copies, 12 reviews
Sad Underwear and Other Complications: More Poems for Children and Their Parents (1995) 187 copies, 7 reviews
It's hard to be hip over thirty ... and other tragedies of married life; and, People & other aggravations (1999) 103 copies, 5 reviews
Making the Best of What's Left: When We're Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered (2025) 95 copies, 15 reviews
What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About?: Poems for When a Person Needs a Poem (2016) — Author — 93 copies, 6 reviews
Grown-Up Marriage: What We Know, Wish We Had Known, and Still Need to Know About Being Married (2003) 64 copies
Nearing Ninety: And Other Comedies of Late Life (Judith Viorst's Decades) (2019) 42 copies, 5 reviews
You're Officially a Grown-up: The Graduate's Guide to Freedom, Responsibility, Happiness, and Personal Hygiene (1999) 25 copies, 1 review
Wait for Me: And Other Poems About the Irritations and Consolations of a Long Marriage (2015) 20 copies
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; and Other Stories and Poems (2004) 18 copies, 2 reviews
The Changing Earth 5 copies
To co musimy utracić: czyli miłość, złudzenia, zależności niemożliwe od spełnienia oczekiwania, których każdy z nas musi s (2020) 4 copies
Alexander Book Set: ... the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day/...Who's Not (Do You Hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move (1989) 3 copies
Alexander Book Set: ... the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day/...Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday (2010) 2 copies
Alexander' who's Not 1 copy
Mother Doesn't Want a Dog 1 copy
Rosie and Michael 1 copy
There Is No Bad Day 1 copy
Rosie and Michael 1 copy
No one loved you more. 1 copy
Casamento para Toda a Vida 1 copy
Małżeństwo dla zaawansowanych: czyli wszystko co chcielibyśmy i powinniśmy wiedzieć, aby cieszyć się udanym związkiem (2021) 1 copy
Love and Shrimp 1 copy
Associated Works
The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud (1998) — Contributor — 1,837 copies, 14 reviews
Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England (1987) — Contributor — 513 copies, 4 reviews
What the Dormouse Said: Lessons for Grownups from Children's Books (1999) — Foreword — 236 copies, 3 reviews
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day [2014 film] (2014) — Original book — 94 copies, 1 review
A Taste of Murder: Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers (1999) — Contributor — 48 copies, 1 review
Creme de la Femme: The Best of Contemporary Women's Humor (1997) — Contributor — 41 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Viorst, Judith
- Birthdate
- 1931-02-02
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Rutgers University
Columbia High School, Maplewood, New Jersey, USA - Occupations
- Research graduate (Washington Psychoanalytic Institute)
author
writer
journalist - Organizations
- Redbook
- Relationships
- Viorst, Milton (husband)
- Short biography
- Judith Viorst (born February 2, 1931) is an American author, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher. She is perhaps best known for her children's literature, such as The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (about the death of a pet) and the Alexander series of short books.
In the latter part of the 1970s, after two decades of writing for children and adults, Viorst turned to the study of Freudian psychology. After six years of study at Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, in 1981 she became a research graduate affiliated with the institute.
Judith Viorst lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, political writer Milton Viorst. They have three grown sons: Anthony Jacob Viorst, an attorney practicing in the Denver, Colorado area; Nicholas Nathan "Nick" Viorst, an Assistant District Attorney for New York County, and Alexander Noah Viorst. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Newark, New Jersey, USA
- Places of residence
- Washington, D.C., USA
Maplewood, New Jersey, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- New Jersey, USA
Members
Reviews
Viorst has exceptional insight into children’s joys, worries, and puzzlement about the way the world works. Most of the poems in this book are lively and humorous, and many would serve as terrific models for kids’ own writing.
The book is divided into ten parts: Questions, World of Wonders, Knock Knocks, Fairy Tales, Stuff You Should Know, Pals and Pests, Adventures, Moms and Dads, Special Requests, and When I Grow Up.
My favourite poems appeared in the “Fairy Tales” and “Stuff You show more Should Know” sections. In the former, we hear from a disgruntled Beauty who doesn’t like playing second fiddle to the Beast after his transformation into a breathtakingly handsome prince, Sleeping Beauty who finds cleaning up a castle after a hundred years of neglect is more than she’d bargained for, the greedy fisherman’s wife from “The Magic Fish”, and Gretel, who makes a case for her name being placed before her brother’s in the gingerbread house tale.
As for “The Stuff You Should Know”, well, Viorst provides a couple of gems that even adults can relate to:
As I mentioned, most of the poems have a light comedic tone, but three are notable for their poignancy. One is about friendship. In another, a boy speaks lovingly of “what dads do”, revealing only in the last line that he wishes he still had one. And the third focuses on a “jolly fat boy” who endures other kids’ teasing, laughing louder than all of them, and then sorrows in private. The poem put me in mind of Stevie Smith’s “Not Waving But Drowning”. The final stanza reads:
All in all, this is another fine and relatable collection from Judith Viorst. show less
The book is divided into ten parts: Questions, World of Wonders, Knock Knocks, Fairy Tales, Stuff You Should Know, Pals and Pests, Adventures, Moms and Dads, Special Requests, and When I Grow Up.
My favourite poems appeared in the “Fairy Tales” and “Stuff You show more Should Know” sections. In the former, we hear from a disgruntled Beauty who doesn’t like playing second fiddle to the Beast after his transformation into a breathtakingly handsome prince, Sleeping Beauty who finds cleaning up a castle after a hundred years of neglect is more than she’d bargained for, the greedy fisherman’s wife from “The Magic Fish”, and Gretel, who makes a case for her name being placed before her brother’s in the gingerbread house tale.
As for “The Stuff You Should Know”, well, Viorst provides a couple of gems that even adults can relate to:
Manners
Telling a lie is called wrong.
Telling the truth is called right.
Except when telling the truth is called bad manners
and telling a lie is called polite.
The Hardest Thing
If you think that the hardest thing is saying you’re wrong
when you’ve been wrong,
I think you should know
That the really hardest thing is, when you’ve been
absolutely right,
Not saying nyah nyah nyah, I told you so.
As I mentioned, most of the poems have a light comedic tone, but three are notable for their poignancy. One is about friendship. In another, a boy speaks lovingly of “what dads do”, revealing only in the last line that he wishes he still had one. And the third focuses on a “jolly fat boy” who endures other kids’ teasing, laughing louder than all of them, and then sorrows in private. The poem put me in mind of Stevie Smith’s “Not Waving But Drowning”. The final stanza reads:
See the jolly fat boy
When we’re not around.
He’s not laughing anymore.
He’s staring at the ground
With eyes like winter’s drearest days,
Like birds whose mama died.
I think we’ve never seen the boy
Who lives deep down inside—inside
The fat boy.
All in all, this is another fine and relatable collection from Judith Viorst. show less
If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries: Poems for Children and their Parents by Judith Viorst
There are some wonderful poems in this collection. Many, of course, are about the worries, annoyances, grievances, heartbreaks and losses of childhood. Some focus on envy, competitiveness, and self image. There are also lovely poems that address—among other things—pet cats, good friends, and the smell of early springtime.
I particularly liked the “Fairy Tales” section of the book in which Viorst has well-known heroines address, in the first person, the reality of their situations. show more When the prince who’s searching for the owner of the glass slipper visits Cinderella, for example, she has reservations:
I really didn’t notice that he had a funny nose.
And he certainly looked better all dressed up in fancy clothes.
He’s not nearly as attractive as he seemed the other night.
So I think I’ll just pretend that this glass slipper feels too tight.
As for the Little Mermaid—she poignantly reflects and regrets:
I risked more than my life to make him love me.
The prince preferred another for his bride.
I always hate the ending to this story:
They lived together happily; I died.
But I have some advice for modern mermaids
Who wish to save great sorrow and travail:
Don’t give up who you are for love of princes.
He might have liked me better with my tail.
While some of Viorst’s cultural references are now dated, there’s still much emotionally relatable and humorous content in this poetry collection for kids. Recommended. show less
I particularly liked the “Fairy Tales” section of the book in which Viorst has well-known heroines address, in the first person, the reality of their situations. show more When the prince who’s searching for the owner of the glass slipper visits Cinderella, for example, she has reservations:
I really didn’t notice that he had a funny nose.
And he certainly looked better all dressed up in fancy clothes.
He’s not nearly as attractive as he seemed the other night.
So I think I’ll just pretend that this glass slipper feels too tight.
As for the Little Mermaid—she poignantly reflects and regrets:
I risked more than my life to make him love me.
The prince preferred another for his bride.
I always hate the ending to this story:
They lived together happily; I died.
But I have some advice for modern mermaids
Who wish to save great sorrow and travail:
Don’t give up who you are for love of princes.
He might have liked me better with my tail.
While some of Viorst’s cultural references are now dated, there’s still much emotionally relatable and humorous content in this poetry collection for kids. Recommended. show less
We've all been there, Alexander - those days that start out bad and only go downhill from there. This classic picture book presents an honest picture of the gloomy clouds that cover our lives from time to time.
The story is told from Alexander's perspective, a young boy of elementary age who is the smallest of three boys. And he is not a happy camper. Everything that can go wrong is going wrong, whether it's from bad luck or his brothers being mean. As the day goes on, the reader can see how show more his unhappiness colors his perceptions, so that he grumbles about events that might normally pass unnoticed. Isn't that just the way we are when we get upset? Kids, with their irrefutable and irrational logic, can be even harder to console.
Despite the topic, this book is extremely comical. We can laugh at Alexander because we have felt what he is feeling, and because some of his accusations are outrageous and yet we still sympathize with him. The black and white illustrations add to the humor. They capture his ill mood in intricate detail, at the same time portraying a child's world. I love this picture book. The pictures and the topic are wonderfully wrought. The story shows children that everyone has those days, and encourages them that frustrated and sad and angry feelings are valid, and that they can be handled with humor. show less
The story is told from Alexander's perspective, a young boy of elementary age who is the smallest of three boys. And he is not a happy camper. Everything that can go wrong is going wrong, whether it's from bad luck or his brothers being mean. As the day goes on, the reader can see how show more his unhappiness colors his perceptions, so that he grumbles about events that might normally pass unnoticed. Isn't that just the way we are when we get upset? Kids, with their irrefutable and irrational logic, can be even harder to console.
Despite the topic, this book is extremely comical. We can laugh at Alexander because we have felt what he is feeling, and because some of his accusations are outrageous and yet we still sympathize with him. The black and white illustrations add to the humor. They capture his ill mood in intricate detail, at the same time portraying a child's world. I love this picture book. The pictures and the topic are wonderfully wrought. The story shows children that everyone has those days, and encourages them that frustrated and sad and angry feelings are valid, and that they can be handled with humor. show less
At roughly 2pm this afternoon (June 21st, 2009) my cat - friendly and loving little beast, hair-raising terror, and long-time companion - breathed her last. Sixteen years old, Kitty (no, I didn't name her) had been with me for half the span of my life, and although she had been ill for some time, it was still a heart-breaking decision to have her euthanized. As my mother and I sat with her while the injection took effect, we found ourselves recalling all the wonderful ways she had show more contributed to our home and family.
Kitty was my mother's "prayer cat," and would sit next to her every morning, purring as loudly as possible, while my mother said her daily "prayers and meditations." She was a sociable little beast (except when she wasn't) and I have fond memories of the many times she would come sit with me on the sofa, while I was curled up, reading a book. She had this adorable habit of coming out of her bed (or the forbidden closet) to greet me when I got home, lolling about on her back, hoping to trick me into petting her tummy. Little hussy - as if I didn't know it was all a ruse so she could give my hand a little nip! "Kisses, not nips!" I would intone, and she would lick my finger, as if in apology...
And so it is, as I sit here this evening, trying not to think about how empty the apartment seems without her, I am reminded of Judith Viorst's wonderful picture book, The Tenth Good Thing About Barney, in which a young boy struggles to cope with the loss of his beloved cat by compiling a list of "good things" about him. As someone who has been involved with children's books for many years, I have had more than one occasion to recommend this title, but had never, until today, understood its acute sensitivity to the rituals of grieving.
What could be more natural, at a time like this, than that we should want to recall all the ways in which our animal companion brought us happiness? And what could be more reassuring, especially for the young children at whom this book is aimed, than the fact that their instinctive reaction is one shared by many others? Highly, highly recommended. show less
Kitty was my mother's "prayer cat," and would sit next to her every morning, purring as loudly as possible, while my mother said her daily "prayers and meditations." She was a sociable little beast (except when she wasn't) and I have fond memories of the many times she would come sit with me on the sofa, while I was curled up, reading a book. She had this adorable habit of coming out of her bed (or the forbidden closet) to greet me when I got home, lolling about on her back, hoping to trick me into petting her tummy. Little hussy - as if I didn't know it was all a ruse so she could give my hand a little nip! "Kisses, not nips!" I would intone, and she would lick my finger, as if in apology...
And so it is, as I sit here this evening, trying not to think about how empty the apartment seems without her, I am reminded of Judith Viorst's wonderful picture book, The Tenth Good Thing About Barney, in which a young boy struggles to cope with the loss of his beloved cat by compiling a list of "good things" about him. As someone who has been involved with children's books for many years, I have had more than one occasion to recommend this title, but had never, until today, understood its acute sensitivity to the rituals of grieving.
What could be more natural, at a time like this, than that we should want to recall all the ways in which our animal companion brought us happiness? And what could be more reassuring, especially for the young children at whom this book is aimed, than the fact that their instinctive reaction is one shared by many others? Highly, highly recommended. show less
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 93
- Also by
- 14
- Members
- 36,394
- Popularity
- #507
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 1,215
- ISBNs
- 456
- Languages
- 12
- Favorited
- 16
