When Alexander wakes up with gum in his hair, he thinks that maybe it's going to be a bad day. When he trips on the skateboard by his bed and drops his sweater in the sink, he knows it's going to be even worse than he thought. His brothers find fabulous prizes in their cereal boxes; he finds cereal. His best friends get fancy desserts in their lunch boxes; Mom forgets dessert. From being scrunched in the car on the way to school all the way to lima beans for supper and kissing on TV (yuck!), the day just keeps getting worse. It's enough to make him want to move to Australia. A popular and prolific author of children's books, Judith Viorst writes so that kids can recognize themselves in her stories. Johnny Heller's sympathetic reading lets the child in everybody identify with Alexander's predicament and his temptation to go somewhere far away.
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"This is a great, imaginative book that explains to children that bad days really do happen to everyone, even in Australia! I loved the creative spin Viorst used when creating this fun story. I believe that Alexander is definitely a character that is relevant to every single student, since we're all bound to have one of those days. However, at the end of this book, the child's day might not seem too bad to them. This would be a great book to incorporate predications, cause & effect and you could even have your children switch-up the ending. Lots of great ides, with this entertaining book."
— Beckie (4 out of 5 stars)
" grate for emotionally response practice. It is ok to have feeling. Scratch that, is great to have feelings! "
— Leticia, 2/14/2014" One of my very favorites. I often have similar days. "
— Cindy, 2/3/2014" Such a fun book! If you read it out loud it's even better! Poor Alex! It's such an adorable read and he's so cute having his fit!! Another Classic! "
— Marcella, 2/3/2014" Classic! Reading this book again brought back reality that sometimes we just have those bad days! This is great for students who may be having one of those days! Also, it would be good to discuss that everyone has those days no matter where they live- in your neighborhood or Austrailia. The emphasis on Austrailia could lead to searching the continent on a map! "
— Kristen, 1/24/2014" It's hard for me to give 5 stars to a chiildren's book because I find so few "amazing." This one is really great though. Alexander is a great character. I read this book to my classes as an example of using long (run on) sentences to bring out characterization. Wonderfully written. "
— Rob, 1/16/2014" The students will love this book. It talks about how a boy is having a bad day and that it happens to everyone. "
— Crystal, 1/15/2014" One of my top 3 all time favorites! Some days are good and some days are bad.......even in Australia! "
— Diana, 1/9/2014" This is a cute book about a little boy that has a terrible day. From the minute he wakes up to the very end, nothing seems to go right for poor Alexander. I think that this is a great book to read to students because sometimes we all have a bad day when nothing seems to be going our way. I would use this book for students to discuss times that they have had a rough day. I would also use this as a writing prompt so that students can talk about a time that they had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day or even write their own mini-book about that time. "
— Salima, 1/9/2014" This is a good book but it puts my daughters in a bad mood after reading. "
— Dylan, 1/4/2014" I so agree with this book on some days...especially testing days! Let's just move to Australia! "
— D., 12/31/2013" Everyone has terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days just like Alexander! "
— Kyle, 12/22/2013Judith Viorst was born and brought up in New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University, moved to Greenwich Village, and has lived in Washington, DC, since 1960, when she married Milton Viorst, a political writer. They have three sons and seven grandchildren. A 1981 graduate of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, Viorst writes in many different areas: science books; children’s picture books—including the beloved Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; adult fiction and nonfiction; poetry for children and adults; and musicals.
Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.