Chelsea Lin Wallace

If Judith Viorst's Alexander (and his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) were rendered in Kaya Doi's colored pencil, and in poetry, it might be something like this. Everything goes wrong (no pudding cup in lunch!) but gets turned into an ode. Sweet, funny, honest.
*
Re-read December 2024 (Pajama Storytime)

First sentence: Oh Bad Morning,
eyes are crusty, bones are rusty.
Why do all my teeth feel dusty?
All I see is gray ahead.
Can't I stay inside my bed?
Oh you Bad Morning.

This picture book is written in rhyming verse. This little girl is having a BAD DAY. From morning to evening, this littler girl is experiencing it all. (Including a verse to Missed Pudding.)

My thoughts: This was a FANTASTIC picture book memorializing a truly terrible day. Super relatable, good for all ages. I loved this one so show more much. The illustrations are so expressive. The art definitely complements the text well. If you like a little drama, this one is a great find. show less

A child has a bad day, and each subsequent annoyance is aggrandized in a flowery ode. The poems are funny but describe the frustration and bad-day-ness just so perfectly. Yum's illustrations, though, are the best. Each page shows a multitude of emotion, portrayed both in facial expressions and body language, with little hints that the protagonist might not be seeing how others around her may be having a hard time, too. A little green cricket is shown on each page, reacting to each new show more misfortune. show less

Yum's trademark colored pencil illustrations shine with surprising color blends that punctuate scenes with glowing neon. Yum has a knack for capturing childhood with roundness - round bellies, round wailing mouths, round faces, round side eyes. The style is ideal for capturing the heightened drama of bad day feelings. The everyday woes of a child take on epic proportions in this dramatic ode. Rhyming text scans well. A humorous springboard for discussions of feelings and odes.