KMINER's Full Review: Judith Viorst - Alexander and the Terrible, Horrib...
Some books written for children touch us more than others, even to the point where we remember them years later as adults. Not necessarily classics, these stories helped us to understand ourselves, make us laugh, make us cry, or help us to fall asleep. April is National Bedtime Story Month . Most parents today realize the importance of reading to children. As a teacher to children with special needs, and in addition holding a degree in Reading myself and being a parent to an almost 1 year old, I value the combination an author's words and an illustrator's drawings can have as a lasting impression and the benefits to a child of any age.
In Sunday school one day as a child, a teacher read us the book Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day . Written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz, I was initially impressed both by the long, hard to memorize title, and the notion that not every day goes our way.
Alexander is shown on the cover in bed, pillow curled up under him, pouting. My version has black and white pencil drawings, which I feel help focus in on the expressions played out on Alexander's face on the different pages. Much of the writing is written in condensed paragraphs of Alexander, followed by a short sentence of Alexander clarifying just how bad a day it really is.
At breakfast Anthony found a Corvette Sting Ray car kit in his breakfast cereal box and Nick found a Junior Undercover Agent code ring in his breakfast cereal box but in my breakfast cereal box all I found was breakfast cereal.
I think I 'll move to Australia ...
At singing time she [the teacher] said I sang too loud. At counting time she said I left out sixteen. Who needs sixteen?
I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
... while I was punching Nick for saying crybaby my mom came back with the car and scolded me for being muddy and fighting.
I am having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I told everybody. No one even answered.
There were lima beans for dinner and I hate lime beans.
There was kissing to TV and I hate kissing.
When I went to bed Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep and the Mickey Mouse night light burned out and I bit my tongue.
The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me.
It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
My mom says some days are like that.
Even in Australia.
The last page shows Alexander yawning and going to sleep, and makes you wonder what tomorrow will be like.
This book, I feel, shows a real account of what a bad day can contain, and does not try and gloss it over with trite sayings like "the sun will come out tomorrow" or the like. Adults can certainly see the humor in the story, and I feel children can identify with many of the incidents that happen.
I have used this book in my classroom, with much discussion as a topic like feelings can be fairly abstract. Questions like:
Have you ever had a very bad day?
often helps a child to recall events in their life that did not go their way.
My copy of this book is small and paperback, and was originally $2.95 when published in 1972. When I bought it was $.25 at a yard sale.
My family refers to Alexander often when bad days occur.
" Did you have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day today?", my mom will say sometimes when I call home with stories of my day and life.
Are you going to move to Australia?" she will chuckle.
Alexander knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up with gum in this hair.And it got worse...His best friend deserted him. There was no d...More at HotBookSale
Viorst s classic tale of a little boy who must accept the reality that some days are like that, when everything he does goes awry, is one of her most ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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