Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst, Ray Cruz
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recommends it for:
Alexander.
Alex, brah, brah, this is your book, mang. I'm buying it for you.
All it needs is the "Burrito" lyric sheet included as a bonus.
I don't wanna go and party
I don't wanna shoot the pier
I don't wanna take the doggie out for a walk
I don't wanna look at naked chicks and drink beer
I don't wanna do a bong load and go and wrench on the car
I don't wanna go and hose the dogshit down
Cause i aint even gonna get out of bed
Keep on skankin' ronnie skank the night away
But the t...more
All it needs is the "Burrito" lyric sheet included as a bonus.
I don't wanna go and party
I don't wanna shoot the pier
I don't wanna take the doggie out for a walk
I don't wanna look at naked chicks and drink beer
I don't wanna do a bong load and go and wrench on the car
I don't wanna go and hose the dogshit down
Cause i aint even gonna get out of bed
Keep on skankin' ronnie skank the night away
But the t...more
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Read in March, 1988
I want to add a children's book to my list. I've read A Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day a million times (not recently, unfortunately). It's about a boy who's having a bad day and he continues to say "Maybe I'll just move to Australia," or something to that effect. I can't remember if it all works out in the end or what, but it's so much fun to read out loud with a kid because what's more fun to day that "A Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day." And look, we even ...more
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Forget the kids - there are days like this in my adult life when the only sensible action is to make a U turn and head back to bed.
Did you read that Viorst has written a follow-up memoir about how her grown up son, his wife and small child (children?) move in while their house is being remodeled. It's billed as funny but the review I read makes it sounds pretty hostile to me.
LATER - The title is: Alexander and the wonderful, marvelous, excellent, terrific ninety days : an almost completely honest account of what happened to our family when our youngest son, his wife, their baby, their toddler, and their five year old came to live with us for three months ...more
Did you read that Viorst has written a follow-up memoir about how her grown up son, his wife and small child (children?) move in while their house is being remodeled. It's billed as funny but the review I read makes it sounds pretty hostile to me.
LATER - The title is: Alexander and the wonderful, marvelous, excellent, terrific ninety days : an almost completely honest account of what happened to our family when our youngest son, his wife, their baby, their toddler, and their five year old came to live with us for three months ...more
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This book is so cute. It is about a boy who has the worst day possible, or at least he thinks so. It is such a truthful book. All children believe that the littlest things make such a huge difference. It has a good plot and moral to the story. The childrne can learn that just becuase they may be having a bad day does not mean that it will end terrible. They must remain optimistic because there is always tomorrow or the day could end up on a good note. Every child will love the terrible things th...more
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Read in June, 2008
I absolutely love this book! Not only did I think it was really funny, but I could totally relate to it (as I am sure everyone can!). It always seems like when one thing goes wrong, a bunch of things go wrong and just like the book says, it turns into a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." However, there are still bad days in Australia. All we can do is our best to get through them!
I think this book would be entertaining for kids. It has fun pictures and lots of crazy thi...more
I think this book would be entertaining for kids. It has fun pictures and lots of crazy thi...more
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I never owned this book as a child---my aunt did. I remember seeking it out when we visited.
It's an enjoyable book for kids about a bad day. The wrong clothes, bad cereal prize, ugly shoes. Poor Alexander! We all have bad days whether we are young or old, rich or poor, white or black. It's a lesson we learn as kids and need to remember as adults---some days are just bad.
I bought it recently for myself---just because. I don't have kids, but I remember how much I liked it. Good ...more
It's an enjoyable book for kids about a bad day. The wrong clothes, bad cereal prize, ugly shoes. Poor Alexander! We all have bad days whether we are young or old, rich or poor, white or black. It's a lesson we learn as kids and need to remember as adults---some days are just bad.
I bought it recently for myself---just because. I don't have kids, but I remember how much I liked it. Good ...more
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Read in January, 1988
"Some days are like that... Even in Australia."
This is one of those books that has so many levels (like a parfait, or an onion). It begs for multiple readings. On one level it is the story of Alexander, an ordinary kid whose day doesn't go as he wants it to. Yet it is also a treatise on the human condition - our selfishness and self-centeredness, the travails and hardships that assail each person's life, and the resolute courage needed to stand our ground and live our lives wh...more
This is one of those books that has so many levels (like a parfait, or an onion). It begs for multiple readings. On one level it is the story of Alexander, an ordinary kid whose day doesn't go as he wants it to. Yet it is also a treatise on the human condition - our selfishness and self-centeredness, the travails and hardships that assail each person's life, and the resolute courage needed to stand our ground and live our lives wh...more
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CIP: "One day when everything goes wrong for him, Alexander is consoled by the thought that other people have bad days too."
Maggie: For Alexander, the day begins poorly soon after he awakens and simply keeps getting worse--so bad that he considers leaving the country. Although there are some readers out there who have dismissed this book as being overly negative, the outspokenness of the young protagonist was what appealed to me. The language is honest and unapologeti...more
Maggie: For Alexander, the day begins poorly soon after he awakens and simply keeps getting worse--so bad that he considers leaving the country. Although there are some readers out there who have dismissed this book as being overly negative, the outspokenness of the young protagonist was what appealed to me. The language is honest and unapologeti...more
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Read in January, 1988
recommends it for:
Anyone and everyone
Simple, quick and remarkably mature for its intended audience. Sometimes your day (or life) can be really really shitty, but running away from it isn't going to solve anything--whether you go to Australia, Paris or Grad School, you are always going to have shitty days. You will always loose your favourite marble and get gum in your hair and someone will ALWAYS get the cool toy when all you get is breakfast cereal. Helena and I once re-wrote it as "Stephen Dedalus and the Terrible, Horrib...more
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i still remember the day my brother was allowed to take half of my cereal box prize. (just because it was two packs of skittles doesn't make it more than one prize.) my mother didn't understand this injustice of course. Alexander would've...
if you've ever burned your toast, spilled your coffee on your shirt just after you've put it on, left your metro card and your umbrella at home and gotten half way to wherever you're going when it starts to pour - then this book will speak to your very s...more
if you've ever burned your toast, spilled your coffee on your shirt just after you've put it on, left your metro card and your umbrella at home and gotten half way to wherever you're going when it starts to pour - then this book will speak to your very s...more
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recommends it for:
anyone who has ever had a bad day
This is an awesome read-aloud book for ALL AGES. I discovered this as an adult and cannot get through reading it out loud without cracking up... sometimes to the point of tears! I'm chuckling now just at the thought of it!
Viorst truly captures the essence of a bad day for a kid, with everything possible going wrong! The reader can take away an understanding that while bad things happen everywhere, and everyone has to deal with them eventually, life somehow goes on. A great read. :)
Viorst truly captures the essence of a bad day for a kid, with everything possible going wrong! The reader can take away an understanding that while bad things happen everywhere, and everyone has to deal with them eventually, life somehow goes on. A great read. :)
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Read in January, 1978
recommends it for:
Everyone in the world--even in Australia
With this book I was introduced and learned to love Alexander and his brothers and especially his mother, Judith Viorst. I bought this book at a book fair and was having a day with my dear little (I think) four-year-old Matthew John Castleberry White (name I called him and which he reported as his name when entering kindergarten), and we sat with him on my lap as he repeated five times, "Read it again, Grandma." and I stopped then because it was time to set the table.
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I found this book when my daughter was 2 1/2 years old. She fell in love with it, and so did I. I love the style of writing, knowing it is exactly the way a child would speak and tell his story. When Amanda was younger, and I'd be into the 20th night in a row of reading this book as a bedtime story, I'd attempt to skip a page or two to speed up the process, and she knew. She had memorized the story and was aware of even one paragraph being skipped or paraphrased.
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Read in January, 1983
recommends it for:
kids at heart and those with a sense of humor, as well as parents of children
Read this book if you are having a bad day. it's good for a laugh and a little perspective, although not in a didactic way. Alexander has, as the title suggests, a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and it is good, silly fun, with simple but rather insightful prose. It will make you smile, no matter how terrible and horrible your own day is--whether you are a kid, like when I first read it, or an adult, like I am now.
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Read in March, 2001
recommends it for:
little kids
Alexander went to bed with gum in his mouth and now it is in his hair. He also dropped his sweater in the sick while the water was running. At the breakfast table his brother found the toy car in the ceral box.On the way to school he was stuck in the middle while everyone else got window seats. At school he didn't have a very good day either. So he ended up finding out that that day was one of ther worst day of his life.
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Another great read-aloud for high school. I've closed my door, and had kids sit on the floor and then we read together. Years ago I saw a commerical for some bank, and one of the young faces identified himself as 'Alex Viorst.' I actually tracked him down, and I FOUND ALEXANDER. I promised not to stalk, but I had to tell him how much his book means to us all. We all have bad days...even in Australia.
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Read in December, 2007
I was literally laughing out loud as I read this book. Everything that could possibly go wrong during a child's day does for Alexander. He does not get a window seat on the ride to school, no dessert in his lunch and a cavity at the dentist's office.
The facial expressions of Alexander are excellent. However, I do wish the illustrations were in color.
The facial expressions of Alexander are excellent. However, I do wish the illustrations were in color.
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I suppose I liked the book for the simple fact that I am Alexander! When it rains, it pours. I have days like Alexander and wish that I could just get away, but as Alexander finds out, some days are like this even in Australia. Cute book that can relate to the class. You could even have them journal or spring board from the book to a writing.
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Read in January, 1990
recommends it for:
boys who have the occasional bad day
I learned from this book that happiness is having dessert with lunch, avoiding calling Australia long-distance, and spitting out the gum at bedtime and brushing your teeth, thus avoiding both cavities and the annoying gum-stuck-in-hair problem. Poor Alexander. He really was doomed from the beginning. But we all have days like these sometimes.
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Read in January, 1988
I loved, loved these books! I especially like the Alexander books.These books are funny and like any children's books there is a point to the story. I even read this to kids that I was babysitting and still got a kick out of the story. Judith Viorst really understands the dynamic of two brothers and captures it in a funny and poignant way.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.39 (3230 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.39 (3165 ratings) number of reviews: 235popular shelves
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quote
"I think I'll move to Australia."
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