Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This is such a cute book for little ones. It's just one of those classics that everyone should have in their library. When Alexander's day doesn't go "quite right," it makes you just think about all those times when you were small and why on earth everything went wrong. It's a celebration of childhood and the bumps and bruises along the way, and it's very hard not to smile when you think of your own "bad days." This is a great book and one that will teach children that even though you have a bad day, things go better the next!

Rating:
Summary: A Lovely Soon-To-Be Librarian's Review
Review: Theme: Everyone has bad days, you are not alone. Even the most terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days are essentially really not that bad.

Summary: When Alexander woke up with gum in his hair, got out of bed and tripped on his skateboard, and dropped his sweater in the sink while the water was running, he could tell it was going to be a bad day. Maybe even a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. The story continues explaining all of Alexander's tribulations he encounters from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed at night. He forgets the number sixteen while counting in school, he doesn't get a dessert in his lunch, the dentist tells him he has a cavity, he has to eat lima beans for dinner, and he has to wear his railroad train pajamas which he hates. These are just a few of the bad things which Alexander tells us about during the story. His solution to his bad day, which he mentions multiple times, is to move to Australia. But at the end of the story, Alexander's Mother reminds him that everyone has bad days, and moving to Australia will not solve his problems.

Evaluation: While reading about Alexander's conflicts, children will be able to make parallels into their own lives and realize that they are not alone in how they feel. They will learn that everyone has bad days. Just like Alexander does during the story, they can feel like nothing is going the way they expect, and that no one listens to them. This story will reassure children and make them feel better.

Cruz does a superb job depicting Alexander and the situations he finds himself in with the simple black and white line drawings. These illustrations go hand in hand with the storyline.

One activity which parents or teachers could do with children is talk about or have them write about the worst day they ever had. Then compare it with Alexander's day. Hopefully, they will realize how similar they feel to Alexander when they have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.