Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
“It has been a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia.”
“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst is a story so many of us can relate to given the circumstances we find ourselves in 2020.
While I’m sure there have been good days sprinkled in there, it is hard to ignore the bushfires in Australia, racial tensions, police brutality, social unrest, the invasion of murder hornets, and of course, a global pandemic. All of this has impacted our mental well being one way or another. It has certainly put many of us in a bad mood to say the least.
While our children may not pick up on all of this, they are certainly not immune to it. Children are excellent readers of their world. They pick up on the stress and anxiety we feel and are beginning to put together how we react to the negative events in our lives.
This story connects to children in a way that is a bit more digestible and relatable. What child or adult hasn’t had a really bad day - a day where one bad event seems to lead to another?
What we love about this book is that there is no neatly solved happy ending. In doing so, the author honors that sometimes a bad mood can just stick. That’s it. And it isn’t necessarily any better if you run away to Australia. The reader is left with no pre-determined solution, but is instead invited and empowered to consider their own solution.
We love books with subtle questions that lead to more thinking. This story does just that and makes space for honoring the role of bad days in our lives.
Some things to think about…
Can your mood affect what happens to you?
Is any day completely bad or good?
Mrs. Dickens liked Paul’s picture of the sailboat better than Alexander’s picture of the invisible castle. Can one drawing be better than another? How do you know?
Why did the illustrator choose to create black and white illustrations?
Activity idea: Next time you’re feeling angry and frustrated, try to estimate how long you will be upset. Do you need to be upset for 5 minutes? 1 hour? all day? Write it down. When your time is up, journal about the experience. Did you need that time? What feelings replaced your previous ones?
Activity idea: Look at images of art (in a museum, at home, online). Describe the art. How do you know if it is good or not? Explain.
