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

I bought this book for my granddaughters, and it had also been a favorite of my daughters as they were growing up. It is always nice to know that other people are having a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" day, once in a while. It does not dwell on the negative, and is very realistic, making it a good balance for children and adults both. As an adult, one day at work, we were all having a challenging time, and the next day, this book mysteriously appeared, and we all re-read it, and laughed about our previous day. I highly recommend this.

The title says it all... having a "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" describes exactly what kids feel when and they think they're being slighted and nothing seems to be going right! This is a delightfully written story that can remind a child that it happens to all of us, and "some days are like that"!

Good book for opening dialogue with children about bad experiences in life. We all have them!

My daughter loves this book, so I decided to get it for her. Be warned, the font is TINY on the Nook.

Our teacher read this book to us.It is about a boy named Alexander and he is not happy because everything bad is happening to him. He wakes up and is in a bad mood and can tell it is going to be a bad day. He wants to move to Australia. Nobody cares if he is having a bad day and he looks very mad. Then he goes to bed and his mom says some days are like that.

I read this book to all three of my children...to this day, they will call me and tell me about their 'no good, horrible, very bad days' and how they are able to get through them! I am now buying this book for my grandson.

I love this book! Totally a classic!!!!

Will Anything Go Right for Alexander?   Alexander just knows it will be a bad day when he wakes up with gum in his hair and trips over his skateboard.  And sure enough, his teacher doesn’t like his picture, his best friend demotes him from best friend to third best friend, and he gets in trouble for fighting when he was only responding to someone else’s taunts.  Will his day ever get better?   This is a fun book because of how it is written.  While things just go wrong for Alexander all day, we can sympathize with him quite easily.  And there is an undercurrent of humor to just how bad things get.  No, the book is never laugh out loud funny, but you are left wondering just what could happen to him next.  I like the fact that there is a mix of bad luck and Alexander acting out, which are both put into the category.  While the book never differentiates, it does allow parents to discuss how behavior can cause bad days to be worse.  The illustrations only add to the charm.   Given the subject of bad days, it is kind of surprising just how fun this book is, but it can be a good reminder when the bad days come that everyone has them.  Even in Australia.

I had this book in my library when my kids were small. I thought I still had that but it disappeared over the years. I purchased this one for my grandchildren because we all have those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

A delightful little story, this helped my children understand that some days things go wrong. After reading it together we developed the habit of saying, "I think I'll move to Australia," whenever one of us was having "one of those days." It never fails to get a smile, even if it's a bit of a wry one.

This was one of our kids' very favorite books. We read it over and over again. They would ask me to read it when a day had gone bad. I just bought it again for a friend's daughter who has been struggling to get used to her preschool - she asks her Mom to read it again and again too. Some days are just like that. . . ..

This was one of my all time favorite books growing up. My mother read it to me all the time. When I had my first child, I wanted to name him Alexander if the baby was a boy. Well, I had a girl and named her Marissa. So four years later when I had my first son, I named him Alexander! I read this book to him all the time.

Another classic. One of my spouse's favorite stories growing up and now one of our son's favorites. Not the happiest ending but realistic.

I've loved this book since I was a kid. Really Funny

A true classic. Readers will love the misadventures of the main character as he goes through "one of those days" that we all have from time to time. I also recommend Pumpkin Guts and Runny Babbit. All of these books are great.

My daughter read this book to me and she could understand exactly what Alexander was feeling. Everyone has bad days and he obviously was. The sentences are long and for young readers they really have to paraphrase to make everything flow, but the book as a whole is recommendable because we all have bad days.

I believe that Alexander is a little boy who is struggling with a case of very bad luck one particular day. The more his mood gets worse, the more bad things seem to be happening to him. This is a cute children's book filled with irony, some laughs, and a great bedtime story to start off tommorrow with a new and improved positive attitude. When I was little I felt good to know that Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days like the one Alexander had make the OK days seem much happier!

This was the first book read to me as an adult. It has stayed with me and I've just bought a number of copies to give to people at work. It is always good to know that others share our passing misery. I highly recommend this book!

I read to my children this book each night, often twice. My daughter at age 3 1/2 began reading it to me after she caught me shaving off a paragraph when in a hurry. I still get a kick out of giving it as a gift to family and friends.

We can all relate to Alexander's bad day. Viorst hits just the right notes, making this story funny and wise. Infinitely rereadable!

Moms and dads teachers and friends DO NOT miss this book it is perfect I am ten and read it when i was 3 it was so good I read it again and again.It may have been a while but I still recomend it

This book is really helpful if you need a book to read to a discouraged child. It shows them that there will be some bad days in life, (and you can laugh together at the scenarios in the book), and that everything will turn out all right....even in Australia! :o)

As a single parent,I read this to my (then) six year old daughter when it first came out in the 70's and it helped us both get through some horrible, no good, very bad days. It is one of the best and most memorable family books, dealing with feelings.

As an elementary teacher, I find this book to be very helpful. Whenever our class has a 'bad' day. I pull this book out. The kids can relate to Alexander and the illustrations are fantastic. This was one of my favorites as a child and it still is one of my favorites as an adult. I recommend this book for all children because we all have days like Alexander's.

3.5 stars Did I enjoy this book: Alexander was a staple of my own childhood, so I was eager to share him with my own children. My son loves it just as much as I did as a child. The best aspect of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is that it demonstrates that you don’t always get your way and sometimes (even in Australia) you have a bad day. I feel this is a lesson that many children today are lacking. The illustrations are black and white and could be a little more engaging, but my toddler doesn’t seem to mind all that much. One of the things that bothers me from a parenting perspective is that Alexander uses the word “hate” quite a lot. As a parent, I try to encourage my children to express themselves without using negative labeling words like “hate” and “can’t.” It’s okay not to like something, but I would rather my children explain what they don’t like instead of just applying a label. That being said, I still read this to my children frequently. We talk about better ways for Alexander to express his feelings about things that he doesn’t like, so it all works out to be a teaching moment. Would I recommend it: This is a fun book that I enjoy reading to my children, and I would recommend it to parents who are looking for an entertaining story with a useful lesson. As reviewed by Sara at Every Free Chance Books.