Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Children’s Book with Learning Ideas

I am so excited to share Alexander with you today.  We have read this hilarious book by Judith Viorst a multitude of times throughout my 15 years of being a mother.

I am not sure that you could have a list of most beloved children’s books and not have a book about Alexander.  He has added a lot of humor to our reading time throughout the years!

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

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

Author: Judith Viorst

As you can guess from the title, Alexander is not having a great day by any stretch of the imagination.

He gets gum in his hair, he didn’t have a toy in his breakfast cereal box, and there were lima beans for dinner.

My children and I find the tone of this book to be hilarious!  Everyone has the occasional bad day, and this is a great reminder that even 5 year old’s do too!

Alexander is so fun to read because he is just a fabulously relatable kid.  Whether young or old, we all have those days where a million seemingly innocent things go wrong, yet all of them combined equal a horrendous day!

Pull this book out any time, but especially on those days someone has a case of the grumps and a bit of comic relief is needed.

A Few Learning Activities for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Here are a few questions I occasionally ask my kiddos when we read this book:

— In this book, Alexander is clearly aggravated.  What is aggravating to you today?  What can you do so you’re not frustrated by the things on your list?

— What was the best item you’ve ever found in a breakfast cereal box?

— Why is Australia so appealing to Alexander?

— When things aren’t going as planned, what can you do to make it better?  How does your situation improve if you change your attitude?  (Change from your ‘Stinkin’ Thinkin’ as Zig Ziglar would say!)

And here are a few hands-on type activities if you feel so inclined:

— Use the globe to find Australia.  This is a great time to talk about the 7 continents if your child cannot name them yet.

— Find where you are on the globe in relation to Australia.  How would you travel there – plane? train? boat?

— If you have slightly older children, figure out how many miles you are from Australia.  In what time zone is Australia?

Lauren Hill

Lauren Hill is a Christian mom to 5, ages 19 to 7. She homeschools her children in the classical education tradition and is currently in her 15th year of homeschool. She creates engaging worksheets and hands-on printable activities for Preschool and Elementary age children to supplement their daily studies.

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