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

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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
AuthorJudith Viorst
IllustratorRay Cruz
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's
PublisherAtheneum Books
Publication dateJune 16, 1972
Publication placeUnited States
Pages32
ISBN0-689-30072-7

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a 1972 ALA Notable Children's Book written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz.[1][2]

The book has won a George G. Stone Center Recognition of Merit, a Georgia Children's Book Award, and is a Reading Rainbow book. Viorst followed this book up with three sequels: Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday,[3] Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move,[4] and Alexander, Who's Trying His Best to Be the Best Boy Ever.[5]

Plot

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Alexander is a young boy who endures a string of misfortunes throughout his day, starting when he wakes up with gum in his hair. His older brothers find prizes in their cereal boxes, while Alexander does not. In the carpool on the way to school, Alexander does not get a window seat. At school, Alexander faces criticism from his teacher, his best friend replaces him with two other friends, and he finds that his mother neglected to put a dessert in his lunch bag.

When school is over, a dentist's appointment reveals a cavity in Alexander's mouth. At the shoe store, Alexander is forced to buy plain white sneakers. When the family goes to pick up Alexander's father from his office, Alexander's restless behavior makes the father request not to be picked up anymore. Back at home, Alexander is served lima beans for dinner, sees kissing on TV, and is made to sleep in train-themed pajamas, all of which he hates.

A running gag in the story is Alexander's desire to escape his troubles by moving to Australia. His mother tells him that everybody has bad days, regardless of where they live.

TV adaptation

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On September 15, 1990, the book was adapted into a 29-minute animated musical television special that was produced by Klasky Csupo and aired on HBO in the United States.

While the special is mostly true to the book, the following differences are:

  • Aside from the running gag of Alexander making references to Australia, there is another in the special: he searches everywhere for his favorite yo-yo, a purple one that glows in the dark.
  • Alexander has red hair instead of orange.
  • Alexander often wears a sad face instead of a grumpy one. He also smiles more times in the special than in the book.
  • Dad has no mustache (as if he had shaved in the morning) and has brown hair instead of blonde.
  • Anthony and Nick's hair colors, blonde and brown, have switched places.
  • Nick wears glasses.
  • Mom does not wear a bandanna.
  • The cat (who wants to sleep with Anthony instead of Alexander) is unnamed in the book. However, in the television special, the cat's name is Timothy.
  • Phillip Parker and Albert Moyo's skin colors, black and white, have switched places.
  • Audrey is replaced with Margaret.
  • Anthony and Nick join the car ride.
  • Instead of Anthony deliberately pushing Alexander in the mud like in the book, Anthony and Nick lunge out at Alexander, laugh at him, and mimic his pain (by hopping on one foot). Also, Alexander accidentally bumps into Anthony, loses his balance, and falls.
  • The Mickey Mouse night light is replaced with a normal lamplight, to avoid copyright conflicts with Disney.

This special features 12 more bad things for Alexander:

  • He opens a drawer too far, making it land on his right foot.
  • He spills cereal on the floor while searching for a free prize.
  • The kids laugh when he complains about not having a seat by the window.
  • He falls off of the seat when the car arrives at his school.
  • His friends will not let him play Monkey in the Middle.
  • He sings "roll" and "Mary Lee" (instead of "row" and "merrily") while he sings the song "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". The teacher (Mrs. Dickens) corrects him afterward.
  • His friends tease him multiple times when he pretends to draw a picture, sings his song loudly and incorrectly, and forgets to count the number "16" at counting time.
  • His friends close the doors on him after school.
  • He is forced by the dentist, Dr. Fields, to sit still for 30 seconds after messing around with the toothpaste, dental chair, and tray.
  • Before Alexander falls into the mud puddle, cries because of the mud, and Nick calls Alexander a crybaby, Anthony and Nick laugh at Alexander's pain and pretend to be in pain (imitating Alexander) when Alexander hops on one foot since the elevator door closed on his foot (his brothers as a practical joke made the elevator door close on Alexander's foot).
  • The shoe salesman turns down Alexander's alternate choice of sneakers (green ones).
  • Alexander is forced by his father to sit on the couch until he gets him as a time-out for playing with his father's copy machine and knocking the books off of his desk.

The special also includes four good things to show the audience that even a bad day can have some positives in it:

  • Alexander's friends kindly ask him if he wants to play ball with them before he tells them he cannot due to his dentist appointment.
  • Anthony and Nick make up for what they did to Alexander while waiting for their mom to pick up the car.
  • Mom finds Alexander's yo-yo in the closet while turning off the bedroom light.
  • Before the end credits, Timothy (the cat) changes his mind and sleeps with Alexander while talking about how Mom says everybody has bad days, even in Australia.

Although mentioned, the three following bad things are not shown in the special:

  • The family has lima beans for dinner.
  • Alexander watching kissing on TV.
  • Alexander's bath making the evening worse.

The special also included three original songs:

  • "So much to do, so little time in the morning"
  • "If I could be the only child"
  • "I've had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"

Cast

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Other media

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In 1998, Viorst and the Kennedy Center joined together to turn the book into a musical production.[6][7] Charles Strouse wrote the music, Viorst wrote the script and lyrics, and the musical score was composed by Shelly Markham.[7] The productions have been performed around the country.[6][8]

Other characters in it are Audrey, Becky, and many others.

In 2004, a stage adaptation was run at the B Street Theatre.

Characters

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Alexander and his two older brothers, Anthony and Nick, are based on Viorst's own three sons of the same names. However, the film changed Nick to Emily, replacing the brother with a sister, and adds Trevor as well.[9]

Cultural references

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The phrase "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad . . ." has become an Internet meme, often used by bloggers, and sometimes by mainstream media, to criticize, or characterize setbacks for, an individual or political movement.[10][11][12]

References

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  1. ↑ Viorst, Judith (June 1, 1972). Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (First ed.). Anthenum Books. ISBN 978-0689300721.
  2. ↑ Scott Bernarde (2007). "I resolve to forget fishing in 2007". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Archived from the original on 2007-12-25. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
  3. ↑ Viorst, Judith. Alexander, who used to be rich last Sunday (first ed.). Atheneum Books. ISBN 978-0-689-30602-0.
  4. ↑ Viorst, Judith. Alexander, who's not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to move (1st ed.). Antheneum Books. ISBN 0-689-31958-4.
  5. ↑ Viorst, Judith. Alexander, who's trying his best to be the best boy ever (First ed.). Antheneum Books. ISBN 978-1-48142353-3.
  6. 1 2 The Kennedy Center (2007). "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". The Kennedy Center. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
  7. 1 2 Laurel Graeber (October 24, 2003). "Just One Of Those Days". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-05-31. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
  8. ↑ Hispania News (2006). "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Hispania News. Archived from the original on 2008-05-31. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
  9. ↑ Mary-Liz Shaw (2007). "Grandmother learns lesson in flexibility". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Dick Cheney's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". 3 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  11. ↑ Patrick Gavin (2013-05-16). "Obama's week? 'Horrible, no good'". Archived from the original on 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  12. ↑ "Political Commentary and Opinion - Washington Examiner". Washington Examiner.[permanent dead link]
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