Have your heard of Alexander and the Terrible Horrible book? Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz is a funny, charming, relatable book that my mom read as a kid and now I get to read too. How I loved Alexander. And how I wished his day would improve.
The book starts off with Alexander waking up to find gum in his hair. You’d think it can only get better from there, but no. It just gets worse and worse. And then it gets much worse.
Alexander’s best friend is no longer his best friend. At school lunch time, he opens his lunch bag to discover his mom forgot to pack a dessert. And as if that weren’t enough, that night there’s lima beans for dinner; and Alexander hates lima beans.
The illustrations really pull you in as you look at the drawings to take in the whole scene. The words “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad, day” repeat over and over, and become sing-songy in the best of ways. Alexander truly is having a very bad day. And his in endearing through all of it. I turned each page wondering – what will happen next.
My all time favorite part of this book is how he thinks his life will be so much better in Australia. That’s so silly! Why Australia? I asked my mom. That made no sense to me and also, I loved it so much. I also really loved the part in the car where he says he’s going to get car sick because he was getting smushed. He’s so dramatic.
My mom loves this book too. She told me this was her brother’s favorite book. I guess once you read this Alexander and the Terrible book, it kinda stays with you forever.
Alexander and the Terrible Horrible Activities
Here’s a free printable map of Australia to color that we made to go with the book. There is a second map of the seven continents for you to see where Australia is compared to the other continents.
USEFUL INFO FOR GROWN UPS:
- Book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
- Written by: Judith Viorst
- Illustrated by: Ray Cruz
- Age Range: 3-7
- Board Book: 32 pages
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (July 15, 1987)
- ISBN-13: 978-0689711732
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