Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Alexander wakes up with gum in his hair and so begins a day wherein nothing can go right.

Even though this book is classic that has been in print since well before my birth, I actually never read it before this week when the child I was babysitting had checked it out of the library. So I do not have any nostalgic bond to it and my assessment of it is based entirely from the point of a view of an adult.

One thing I do really appreciate about this book is getting children thinking about their emotions -- and in particular, it lets kids know that it's okay to sometimes feel frustrated when things don't go way they way they expected or wish. Furthermore, the book reinforces that everyone has their bad days wherein it seems like everything show more goes wrong. I could see this book being used by parents or teachers to open up a discussion about their feelings or in conjunction with a lesson about emotions.

The downsides I saw were that the book didn't *quite* go far enough in then helping children deal with this heavy emotional stuff. Alexander starts off the day on a bad foot and no doubt his bad attitude follows him throughout the day, coloring the other events that occur. Sure, a lot of annoyances happen to him, but part of me felt like saying, "enough with the complaining already, kid" after a while. By the end of the book, he goes to bed with the feeling that tomorrow will be another "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." It would have been nice if there was some bit of hope in the story, indicating that while, yes, everyone has their bad days, those bad days are usually a blip that are sandwiched in between good and great days.

The cadence of the book was very good for a read aloud, particularly with the repetition of the phrase "a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." Viorst captures a young child's day well, including all the little things that could go wrong. The illustrations are finely etched with a good amount of details, but I personally would have preferred fully colored pictures as opposed to black and white pencil sketches. show less

This book was hilarious! I absolutely LOVED the way the author wrote in the voice of a child. The writing reminded my of the Junie B Jones series. I think this book is good tool that children can identify with (adults, too) and not feel like the whole world is against them. The silly, repetitve reference to Australia, had me cracking up.

I love any book that helps children to understand that their feelings are valid and okay to have. This is definitely that kind of book. What is so great about this book, what I think makes it a true classic, is the simplicity. I doesn't go into detail. It doesn't try to fix. It doesn't try to explain. It's simply a depiction of a terrible day. And then Alexander goes to bed and the day ends. And that's it. In the simplicity is the message that yes, some days are just bad and they don't get better and that's okay. The day ends and you start over. That, I think, is an important message. One that is hard to get across to young readers, but one that this book does very gracefully.

This classic is a truly authentic read.....authentically worthy of the praise it receives....authentic in its structure....authentically great illustrations and complementary visual imagry ....and authentic in its ability to cut through the hoopla of societal expectations and just be negative in a realistic way, because life isn't always sanguine. I appreciate that Alexander is just having a bad day, and isn't apologizing to anyone for his grumpiness. My children enjoy this book as much as I do.

"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." What a hilarious and great opener to this book! I loved how this book shows children that sometimes people have bad days, but to never feel alone because your day probably won't be AS bad as Alexander's! I also loved how relatable Alexander is to not only little kids, but adults too! He is constantly dealing with the little stresses such as spilling coffee all day long. As bad as you may feel for Alexander, his unfortunate situations all day really show more are comical! 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 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 show more 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

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.