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Summary: I love this book!!!!
Review: When I was 16 yrs old I worked in daycare, one day I found this book and read it to my class...It was so great, every child soon knew every word and I was ask to read almost everyday. That was 14 yrs ago, I now have my own 6 yr old son, and this is his favorite book, we read it all the time. Even my mother who is near 70 yrs old laughs each time she reads it. It is a wonderful book for all ages. Everyone can relate to having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!
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Summary: Wow just not a little kid book!
Review: I think this is one of the best kids books I've read. I am in Drama in High School and I have choosen this book for storytelling. It's awesome.
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Summary: I found a kindred.
Review: As a child plagued with bouts of unluck, I thought I'd found a kindred when I stumbled over the beleaguered Alexander and his tale. He was everything I was. I found this book tucked away in an elementary school's library at a very young age and thought it was hysterical....and I felt the utmost empathy for Alexander, of course. Everyone has days like these. Grownups can also surely relate to it. I know I still can. It's a great book and I don't see why so many people have posted negative reviews; perhaps they never have bad days?? Children will find a delightful and compassionate friend in Alexander; I would reccomend this book - vehemently - to anyone with children. Or without - if you'd simply like a good smile.
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Summary: Run-on sentences and extremely negative energy.
Review: Allow me to quote the first page of this book:
"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." This is not posting on an Internet forum about your favorite movies where you can write what, how much, and however you want; it's a book written for children, and we can't have blatant mistakes such as run-on sentences. Therefore, I'm wondering how this page, as well as many other sentences in the book, made it past the editor(s). As I finished the first page, the five year old child I was reading to, looked at me funny and wondered why I seemed out of breath. Even she noticed the run-on sentences and found it an awkward listen. So for the rest of the book, where I deemed it appropriate, I paused as if there were actual periods and commas where there should be. Not only is this book an expert at run-on sentences, but it also showcases an extremely negative attitude in a boy. That may have been justified had the book addressed the issue by the end, but it alas, it doesn't. It just plays it off as if it's normal for children to be this negative. Many people wrote that they can relate to this child and his negative experiences, but if you stretch it, you can say that in reference to many other children's books as well. Negative people give off negative energy, and without ways to deal with this issue, this is not the kind of book I want children exposed to. An extremely negative character and ugly grammar does not make a good children's book. I would give it no stars if Amazon allowed it. This is the worst children's book I have ever purchased.
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Summary: I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!
Review: I am 23 years old and I still remember when my mom used to read me this book when I was a kid!!! Alexander is the man! I can still relate to him today. Just reading some of these reviews brings back some serious memories. I dont know why people would say this is a bad book for kids. Every kid has a bad day. To a little kid they are not going to see this book as a way to get mad about every little thing. All this book is trying to say is that when you have a bad day tomorrow could hold a much better day than before. I still remember as a kid thinking that no matter how bad of a day I was having, it was nothing compared to Alexanders bad day. So go ahead and read it to your kids and tell them to look at it the way I looked at it.
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Summary: WAS THIS WRITTEN ABOUT MY KID?
Review: ha...My two year old could have been the model for Alexander. While my first child was almost impossibly well behaved, my two year old is quite tempermental and going through the terrible twos in a major way. This book has been around a long time but still never fails to get a chuckle from my wife and I when we read it to our son. Heck, he loves it too.
As my little one does occasion, the star of the book, little Alexander is having a 'terrible, hoddible, no good, very bad day where just eveyrthing goes wrong. He wakes up with gum in his hair, He missed out on getting the toys from the cereal boxes, he didn't get the window seat in the car or dessert at lunch, and the dentist says he has a cavity. Poor little Alexander! It's all told in a very humorous and not the least bit mean-spirited way with perfectly rendered and hilarious illustrations from Ray Cruz. The perfect book to read your kids when they are having 'one of those days!'
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Summary: Poor example for children
Review: I read this story to my 3-year old once then hid away. If I don't throw it away I will give it to the public library.
This story is an endless stream of whining about the little annoyances of life. Many of these annoyances are the result of Alexander's own actions and behavior.
If the purpose is to allow parents to discuss this cause and effect with children then, OK. Otherwise, it is an example of American society today. People behave selfishly and are so put out by the tiniest inconvenience.
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Summary: This is the Best Book
Review: I used to see this book on Reading Rainbow and I just loved the message. This kid has the worst day (according to him) and feels like he wants to move to Austrailia. In the end his mother doesn't baby him, instead she tells him that there are going to be bad days, even in Austrailia. I think this book even relates to adults. All adults should have this book and read it to the children in their lives and every once and a while, they should take it out and read it for themselves.
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Summary: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day
Review: As I child I was one of those kids who only enjoy happy joyful oh-isn't-life-one-big-carousel-ride picture books. I shied away from stories that told it like it is. No reality for me, thank you very much. I saw the books, in which the main characters suffered, as objects that could (when read) make me miserable too. I wasn't much for identifying, as a kid. Yet there was one book out there that I not only recognized as chock full o' misery, but grudgingly had to accept as good. There are millions of kids out there for whom, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" is a kind of balm. A book that understands what they have to go through sometimes and how some days you just shouldn't get out of bed (especially if you wake up with gum in your hair). Judith Viorst's 1972 classic is one of those rare stories that hasn't aged one tiny jot. The problems faced by Alexander are still faced by children worldwide. Even in Australia.
Alexander has had better day. The book details every bad, awkward, and annoying thing that happens to him after he wakes up one horrid morning. You might not think that a litany of negative occurrences would be very interesting to read. In this book, they're consistently fascinating. After waking up and proceeding to trip, slip, and slide through his morning, Alexander has to face problems varying from a teacher's disapproval to being told that he's his best friend's third best friend. His mom forgot to pack his dessert, his trip to the dentist reveals a cavity that needs to be filled, he falls into mud, gets bad shoes, and has to eat lima beans. All the while Alexander repeats how he'll probably move to Australia. Finally, when he goes to bed (and this is the kicker) the cat decides to sleep with his brother and not him. Alexander's mom assures him that everyone has bad days sometimes. That goes for the land down under too.
I loved the consistency of this story. There isn't that magical moment where Alexander makes a new friend and everything starts looking up. He isn't taught a preachy lesson about being kind to your siblings and how that kindness will come back to you in the end. No, this is just the ultimate story about those awful days we all have sometimes. Each of us has been through them at some point. They're those days where nothing you can do comes out right (though I suspect the repeated phrase of adults is less, "I think I'll move to Australia" and more "I think I'll move to Canada"). So Judith Viorst really hit on something good when she wrote this book. Illustrator Ray Cruz matches her dead on writing point for point. His Alexander is grouchy, miserable, but ultimately someone a kid can identify with. He has older siblings that tease him and parents that sometimes don't understand. Reading this book as an adult, I noticed for the first time that Alexander's father also seems to be having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day of his own. The black and white pen and ink drawings in this story are fabulous as well. And how did Cruz manage to draw kids that aren't dated? Their hair and clothing could be from 1972, 82, 92, or even 2002 for that matter.
I don't think all kids will like this book, but I do think that all kids will understand it on some level. It may not be their favorite story, but Alexander is a perfect recipient for all the awful stuff that happens to him. Reading this book, kids can feel comforted that at least it's Alexander who's dealing with all these problems and not them. This book is as fresh and fabulous as the day it was thought up. I don't think any child's education is complete without having skimmed it at least once in their travels. It's one of those books that everyone should know.
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Summary: Why I read this book to my boys
Review: The reviewers who criticize the main character's negative tone or run-on sentences, or the lack of a cutesy, make-it-all-better ending, are missing the point of this story. The "voice" of the book is precisely why we love it so much.
Alexander is a real boy--warts and all. When real kids are upset, they pour it all out in a rapid stream of words (and to heck with grammar!)--and of course, everything feels like the end of the world to them at that moment. Judith Viorst captures that very well.
We can relate because Alexander's life is like real life--lots of seemingly minor stressors can add up to one really rotten day; and because it isn't just one problem, there isn't a neat, tidy resolution at the end. In fact, in and of themselves, none of these things are really "problems"--just stuff you have to put up with sometimes. But when it all hits at once, it feels awful.
I think we've all had days like Alexander's: the alarm doesn't go off so you run out of the house late and with "bad hair," you spill coffee on your white blouse (or new tie) just before the big meeting with the boss, you snag your nylons (or lose a button), the pop machine in the breakroom eats your money, you end up having to work overtime, so when you get out to the car you find a parking ticket because you forgot to feed the meter, and then at home, dinner burns on the stove and the kids are fighting! So at the end of it all you collapse in a heap and momentarily consider running away--FAR away. Maybe even Australia! And (adding insult to injury) nobody else seems to care or empathize, because all of these things are just little petty annoyances. It's easy to forget that when one little thing hits you (like a pebble), it's nothing; but when a LOT of things (or pebbles) hit you, it's an avalanche!
On those days, there isn't much you can do but fall into bed and pray that tomorrow will be better--and that you'll laugh about it all later, too.
When an adult reads Alexander's story to a child, the adult can point out that none of the things happening to Alexander are really all that bad--things could definitely be worse; the child can suggest ways that Alexander might have been able to turn his day around; and, most of all, it's good to point out that, despite how grumpy he feels, Alexander still follows the rules and obeys directions (he puts on the jammies even though he hates them, etc.) and doesn't have a "meltdown" or a temper tantrum over it all (though he DOES get a little sour-faced and moody, and that can be talked about as well.)
When one of my kids is having a bad day, I'll often be able to lighten his mood by saying, "Are you having a terrible . . . HORRIBLE . . . . NOGOODVERYBADDAY??" (At my house, you have to start out slow and then get louder and faster--it always gets a laugh.) It also cheers up my sons to compare their plight to Alexander's--and find they are grateful that at least they didn't have to wear ugly jammies or eat lima beans for dinner that day.
There are other books we love more on good days--like "Where the Wild Things Are," or "Green Eggs & Ham." But on a NO-GOOD-VERY-BAD-DAY, this is the one we read--and it always makes us smile.
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