Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move

by Judith Viorst, Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator), Ray Cruz

Overview

When Alexander feels mad or dad he wants to move to Australia. But most of the time he likes it right where he is. So when his mom and dad say that they're moving a thousand miles away, Alexander decides that he's not going.Never, Not ever. No way. Uh uh. N.O.For how can he leave his best friend or his favorite sitter or Seymour the cleaners? he'd rather stay and live in a tree house or cave. And even though Nick calls him puke-face and Anthony says he's immature, he's not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) going to move.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442463189
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/24/2012
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Judith Viorst is the author of the beloved Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which has sold some four million copies; the Lulu books, including Lulu and the Brontosaurus; the New York Times bestseller Necessary Losses; four musicals; and poetry for children and adults. Her most recent books of poetry include What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? and Nearing Ninety. She lives in Washington, DC.

Robin Preiss Glasser is the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of the Fancy Nancy series, written by Jane O’Connor; America: A Patriotic Primer, A Is for Abigail, and Our Fifty States by Lynne Cheney; and Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. She lives in Southern California with her family.

Ray Cruz is the illustrator of the modern classics Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Alexander, Who Used To Be Rich Last Sunday.

Editorial Reviews

r. 48. Alexander in Viorst's classic 1972 story was having a very bad day. Now he's snarling and scowling because he has to move; his father has a new job 1,000 miles away. Alexander swings between anguish and fury. He will not move. He won't pack. His parents try to be sympathetic; his brother Nick calls him a puke face; his brother Anthony says he's immature. Alexander broods about what he'll miss. He remembers. He fantasizes that he'll hide and stay behind. The detail of the crosshatched drawings, the particularity of the examples, the cadence of the child's voice, express the depth of his feelings. He's bowed with sorrow when he has his last school lunch with his best friend: we see that Alexander's sandwich is untouched. Then gradually, a few images of the new home creep in. Dad promises Alexander a dog, and reluctantly he begins to pack. This story of being uprooted is being told in children's books all the time now, but there's a rare combination here of farce and immediacy and a wonderful empathy for the child's point of view. Alexander just can't bear it. Kids will laugh at the wild exaggeration even as they recognize his heartfelt grief.

Hazel Rochman

[Editor’s Note: The following is a combined review with ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY and ALEXANDER, WHO USED TO BE RICH LAST SUNDAY.] -- Everyone loves the cranky, downtrodden, belligerent, and lovable Alexander. We've read and re-read Viorst's three picture books about him over the years. But no reader has experienced Alexander quite like this! Johnny Heller's whiny, often-wise grammar school hero is sufficiently self-righteous to elicit sympathy from kids and knowing smiles from adults. He never gets a seat by the window, he complains. And he only punches his brothers when they deserve it, he explains. His mother never puts interesting desserts in his lunch, he moans. And his money never lasts because saving money is too hard, he groans. He won't move, he threatens. He won't pack, he wails. He won't have any friends if he goes, he sobs. Sniffling and fussing, Heller's Alexander holds up a mirror for us all--and we laugh at our own reflections. T.B. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

DEC/JAN 01 - AudioFile