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

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

Author: Judith Viorst

Illustrator: Ray Cruz

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book

Age Group: Pre-K–5th

This book goes through a series of unfortunate circumstances that go all throughout Alexander's (horrible, terrible, no good, very bad) day. Poor Alexander starts the day with gum stuck in his hair and no cereal box prize. Things don't seem to improve for Alexander at school. He couldn't quite do anything right during class, and Paul said he wasn't his best friend anymore. Let's just say that moving to Australia is on Alexander's radar as a good solution to all of his problems. No dessert and a cavity later, his day is getting worse and worse. As Alexander is lying in bed at the end of a long, bad day, his mom reminds him that bad days happen in Australia, too.

I would definitely use this book in my classroom. It is a book that everyone can relate to, because we all have bad days, no matter where we are on the globe. It offers its readers hope in the sense that bad days are a part of life, but not every day will be bad. I think this is a great point of discussion to talk about with students!

I think Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a special book when it comes to the audience of readers that can appreciate it. As I was reading it, my 18-year-old brother and 14-year-old sister came to hear the story, too. Even my mom was laughing aloud from across the room as I read it. That just goes to show that really any age group can enjoy this book, because, like I have said, we all have bad days, and this book helps us to laugh at ourselves and realize how silly we can be at times. For that reason, I would read this book to Pre-K students all the way up to 5th graders, but look out...you may have some high schoolers and moms crowding around you to hear the story. 😉

This book would be a great tool to use to talk about cause and effect. Here are some amazing ideas I found that I would totally use as a teacher:

• Cause & Effect Anchor Chart: This activity helps students brainstorm and search for causes and effects in the story. Students can share their ideas by putting a situation on a sticky note and placing it on either the "cause" or "effect" column. 
• Cause & Effect Writing Activity: This activity is aimed for younger students. Students can create Alexander's grumpy face using construction paper and a marker. Glue this to the top of a full sheet of construction paper. On the bottom, glue lined writing paper and have students write about why one might have a bad day. For example: I had a bad day because I stepped in a puddle at recess. The cause is stepping in a puddle, and the effect is having a bad day. The word "because" shows this relationship between cause and effect.
• Circle of Control: I saw this wonderful lesson and activity on TPT! It talks all about how there are some things within our circle of control, such as your attitude, what you wear, and what you do. There are also things that are outside our circle of control, such as what others say and do, the weather, or our parents. While it may seem like we are always victims of a bad day, there are still things within our circle of control that we can do to make a hard day a little better! This product on TPT includes a worksheet where students can cut out situations and glue them either inside or outside the circle of control! Such a cool idea!