Book Review: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Bibliography
Viorst, Judith. 1972. ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. Ill. by Ray Cruz. New York: Athenum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689300727

Summary
Have you ever had a day when it seems like nothing is going right? Alexander has that kind of day from the moment he wakes up until he falls asleep that night. His day started out with gum in his hair when he woke up,  then led to his brothers getting the cool prizes in their cereal boxes, then having to be squished in the car on his way to school, to then having trouble with his assignments and his friends in school. Things continue to go wrong for him after school when he finds out he has a cavity and gets new senakers he isn't happy with. He even had to see kissing on TV! His day finally ended when he fell asleep to his broken Mickey Mouse night light.

Critical Analysis
Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a well crafted picture book that tells an extremely relatable story about a very bad day that a young boy experiences. Readers can easily connect with the main character because chances are, they have experienced their own very bad day. The plot and settings of the story moves sequentially through Alexander's day so as to add continuity throughout the story. The illustrations of the book support the actions of the story by giving a visual of not only what Alexander was experiencing, but also reflects his emotions of how he is feeling about his day. There are a few cultural markers contained in the book, this is indicated by pictures of African American children within Alexander's school.

Review Excerpt(s)
Judith Viorst's 30-year-old black-ink-only classic has a better-than-average chance of withstanding the ravages of time, despite its lack of color and dated images (old '70s VW bugs, Mary Tyler Moore-era clothing). After all, who can't identify with the little protagonist when he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed one morning, and experiences a very bad day indeed...I know the feeling, and so does every single kid, making Viorst's cross-hatched ink sketches seem fresh as a daisy to yet another generation. -Vicki Arkoff, Midwest Book Review, November 2002

Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the strengths of this book is how relatable Alexander is to just about anyone. Also, the illustrations add another layer to the story by portaying his emotions in a sympathetic manner. One of the weaknesses of the book is that a stronger moral could have been presented by having at least one thing go right for Alexander, to show the reader that even when things are going horribly wrong, there is always some good thing to find.

Personal Response and Connections
As a reader, I was rooting for something good to happen to Alexander, he looks and seems so miserable! I could also relate to him because judging from the pictures, he seems to be the youngest of three children, which is how I grew up as well. And it seemed that my older sisters always got the best breaks. There were many times I wanted to go to a different place to live, just like Alexander wanted to go to Australia. Also, I noticed that dome of the things that happened to Alexander could have been prevented, like getting in trouble for punching his brother.

This book lends itself well to teaching activities. One of the activities would be to have the students create a new story about "Alexander and the Wonderful, Awesome, Very Good Day." Also, for upper elementary students, a discussion could be done about how Alexander created the horrible day and what he could have done to change it. This would also lead into discussions about how each person can choose the kind of day they are going to have, and how bad days vary according to the perspective you have.

Response from Children (ages 10, 10, and 12) and the Dog Max (age 3)
Well, I had a cute little video of my kids with their response to the book, but for some reason I keep getting an error when I try to upload it. :( I did find it interesting that my 12 year old daughter had the same reaction that I did in that she kept waiting for something good to happen to Alexander. My twin boys liked the book, one really liked the illustrations. My Dog Max said the book needed more dogs.