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

 

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

Author: Judith Viorst 

Illustrator: Ray Cruz 

Genre: Realistic Fiction  

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book 

Age Group: Pre-k - 3 

Summary: 

Alexander was just having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. He started the day by waking up with gum in his hair, tripping on his skateboard, and dropping his sweater in the sink. As the day goes by, and more terrible events happen to Alexander, he keeps thinking that he'll move to Australia. At the end of the day as Alexander lays in bed, he acknowledges that today has just been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day but his mom says that some days are like that, even in Australia. 

Evaluation and Comments: 

Poor Alexander! Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day follows Alexander and how throughout his day, he just can't catch a break. One thing after another, he has the worst luck and nothing goes his way. 

With that, I would use this in my classroom. While the book starts off pretty bad for Alexander, I love the quote "My mom says days are like that". This has the great message that somedays, we'll just have very bad days. However, that's just life and it's good to acknowledge that bad days happen but it doesn't mean that it's always going to be bad. This is perfect for younger students who are still learning about their emotions and need that reminder that bad days aren't the end of the world.  

For an activity, one thing you can do is for everything that happens to Alexander, you can ask the students, how would you feel if this happened to you? and how would you react? Since there is a movie adaptation, students can also watch the movie and compare it to the book (the movie is rated PG so keep that in mind and seek parent approval before showing it). 

In conclusion, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day has my seal of approval! 🥇😄