Module 2: Classic Children's & Young Adult Literature

January 27, 2018 

Module 2: Classic Children's & Young Adult Literature

Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

Genre: Classic Picture books. It does fit the genre because all the illustrations match what the author wrote and helps the reader understand Alexander's frustration with having such a bad day.

Book Summary:

This book tells about the boy named Alexander who experiences a bad day.  He wake up with a gum stuck in his hair, and make a prediction that he will have a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day". From that one incident, he experiences a series of events that made his day worse. He gets cereal with no toy, loses his best friend, has cavities, the shoe store is out of his shoe size, falls in the mud, he hates lima beans and other experiences that made him think that he has "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day".  With each bad thing that happens, Alexander ponders on moving to Australia. At the end of the day, his mother reassures him that sometimes people experience a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, even in Australia."

APA Reference of Book: Viorst, J., & Cruz, R. (1972). Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. New York: Atheneum.


Impression

I liked the way the story was written in first person and how the author uses several run on sentences makes it seem like Alexander is more like a real kid. Even though Alexander he complains and whines, the author also showed the reader that Alexander obeyed the rules and followed directions.  He still ate lima beans even though he hated them and still wore the white sneakers even though he didn't want them either.

Professional Review:

Kirkus Reviews:

In the spiky spirit of Sunday Morning (1969) but more truly attuned to a child's point of view, Viorst reviews a really aggravating (if not terrible, horrible, and very bad) day in the life of a properly disgruntled kid who wakes up with gum in his hair and goes to bed after enduring lima beans for dinner and kissing on T.V.

At school, "Mrs. Dickens liked Paul's picture of sailboat better than my picture of the invisible castle," and at lunch, "guess whose mother forgot to put in dessert?" After school "my mom took us all to the dentist and Dr. Fields found a cavity just in me," and there is worse to come. It's no wonder the kid's ready to move to Australia, but in the end, "My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia."

If Alexander's mother is smart to offer casual sympathy without phoney consolation, Cruz and Viorst accord readers the same respect.

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, V., Cruz, R., Viorst, J., & REVIEW, K. (2018). ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY by Judith Viorst , Ray Cruz | Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 27 January 2018, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/judith-viorst/alexander-and-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-b/

Library Use
Librarians can read this and then have a discussion about how sometimes everyone can have a bad day. The librarian can ask students what it means to have a bad day. What made it so bad? What did you do to cheer yourself up? How did you cope with the bad day? The librarian can emphasize that students can turn the day around and might have a better day later on.


Read alikes:

Bad Day, Good Day by Uthman Hutchinson This story is similar to Alexander's day. Jamaal is having a bad day and he learns how to turn a bad day into a good day.

Oopsy Daisy's Bad Bad Day by Brian Brooks Another story that tells of a character's very bad day and how she pushes through, because tomorrow will be a better one.

It's A Bad Day by Mary Ellen Friday A story about two friends who have a bad day, but find there is hope for a better day around the corner.