Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move

Rating:
Summary: Judith Viorst comes up with another great Alexander story
Review: "Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" is an absolute classic of children's literature, even if I have heard Judith Viorst's story done way too often at speech tournaments. The idea of feeling so mad or sad that you want to move to Australia remains one of the great punch lines. In "Alexander's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move" she comes up with a story almost as good. Alexander might talk about moving to Australia, but when his mom and dad tell him that the family is moving to a new home a thousand miles away he decides that he is not going to move. He is not even going to pack.

His father might have a new job a thousand miles away and there might be a new house a thousand miles away but Alexander does not care. Right next door to the new house there might be a boy who is the same age of his brother Anthony and down the street there might be a boy the same age as his brother Nick, but Alexander figures that there is probably nobody for a thousand miles who is his age. He will never have a best friend like Paul again or a great sitter like Rachel. Alexander has a long, long list of favorite friends and special places that he will never have again if he moves. Therefore, he is not packing. Never. Not going to happen.

"Alexander's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move" is illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, who pointedly does so in the style of Ray Cruz, who first illustrated Alexander in print and who was unable to complete the work on this endeavor. This book might come in second to the original tale, but for any kid who has to deal with the trauma of moving (as an Air Force Brat my family moved a half-dozen times when I was growing up) this story will ring true and help put things in perspective. Final Note: I was surprised to read that Judith Viorst has three sons named Anthony, Nicholas, and Alexander. This must have made for an interesting household. I wonder what happened to Alexander when he grew up. Maybe he moved to Australia.

Rating:
Summary: Alexander is definately moving...off the charts!
Review: Alexander, Who's Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to move by Judith Viorst is a great childrens book. It is wonderfully illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. The storyline is realistic and approaches a subject in a creative style. It is attractive to young readers and manages to shed light on Alexander's negative feelings towards moving. Alexander ends up happy and so will the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Do you hear me?
Review: This is a continuation of the Alexander books. We should all have read about his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day already. I also use this book in my classroom and have found that while the kids do like to hear another story about this adorable little boy, this story just doesn't click with them. The success of Alexander's other stories came from the way kids were able to relate to his situation. This book just doesn't have that.

What it does have though is a wonderfully planned out story and some good imitations of Ray Cruz's original depictions of Alexander. Again, things just aren't going Alexander's way and his imagination begins to spin ways he can keep from moving with his family. He learns his brothers and parents are much more understanding of his situation than he first thought however.

Why 4 stars?:
This book still deserves a place in your library, however it can't compare to the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Still, children will enjoy hearing another story about Alexander and if any of them have moved or are moving, they will get even something more out of this cute story.