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

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Written by Judith Viorst
Illustrated by Ray Cruz

Thank you to my good, talented, and wise friend ShaLisa for this guest post on what I consider a classic book. Enjoy!

This is a book that my mom, a counselor by profession and by heart, read to me throughout my younger years when I truly believed I was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It was a way for me to know my mom understood some of my feelings. Sometimes, she didn’t have to read the book, but would gently say something like, “Is today a day you wished you lived in Australia?” Then I knew that she knew and somehow, her knowing made things much better.

Now I am a mother. When my child seems to be having such a day, I find reading the book calms us both and puts a smile on our faces. The book reminds me of how things sometimes seem from the eyes of a child. (I also see now how a bad day for Alexander might have also meant a frustrating day for his mother.)

This book has been around for a long time. It is a book that my mom still reads often, this time to her junior high school students who, undeniably, have bad days. Oh, how a children’s literature can affect a person for good!

A note from Lindsay: I think I will have to adopt the sweet tradition of stopping and taking a minute to pull out this book when my children (or I!) have a bad day. I just love this idea!