Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very bad Day

Bibliography:

Viorst, Judith. 1972. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Illustrated by Ray Cruz. New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-689-30072-7.

Plot Summary:

This story captures one day of a little boy's life. Everything goes wrong for little Alexander from the early morning: gum stuck in his hair, tripping over the toy by his bed, no surprise in the cereal box. Can it get any worse?
As the plot rises the day does not become better: teacher dislikes Alexander's picture of invisible castle, criticizes him for singing too loud; there is no dessert in his lunch box.
The chain of misadventures follows Alexander to the bedtime: his bath was too hot, the night light burn out and even a cat choose his brother's bed to sleep on. This terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is enough to make anybody want to escape to Australia!

Critical Analysis:

The illustrations in this book are black and white, echoing the grumpy mood of the little boy. It seems the color drained out of the book's pages as well as out of the dull day. The illustrator, Ray Cruz, uses a detailed and textured technique to substitute the lack of the color.
Though the book is about an ordinary child who is just having a bad day, his character can be interpreted as a symbol of human selfishness and struggle.
At the end of the book the author leaves us hope for a better tomorrow.

Review Experts:

 “Bibliotherapy rarely produces a classic, but this book describes perfectly a simple childhood and adult phenomenon – a day when things just don’t go your way.” -100 Best Books for Children.

 “The perfect antidote to any adult that claims that childhood is one sweet, blissful, stress free ride of innocence and carefree days.”- School Library Journal

Connections:

Books by Judith Viorst
Alexander, Who’s Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move By Judith Viorst
Rosie and Michael By Judith Viorst
Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday By Judith Viorst
Absolutely Positively Alexander: The Complete Story By Judith Viorst

Books related to the topic of dealing with frustration and anger:
The Little Engine That Could By Watty Piper
When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry... By Molly Bang
Mean Soup By Betsy Everitt
How to Take the Grrrr Out of Anger By Elizabeth Verdick and Majorie Lisovskis