''Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day'' is a 1972
ALA Notable Children's Book American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists, part of the larger ALA awards structure.
* ''ALA Notable Books for Adults'' (est ...
written by
Judith Viorst
Judith Viorst (; née Stahl,Aarons, Leroy ''People (magazine)'', February 18, 1980 Vol. 13 No. 7. Accessed August 4, 2016. "Born in Maplewood, N.J., the daughter of an accountant and a mother 'who was a reader and a bridge player,' Judith Stahl ...
and illustrated by Ray Cruz.
It has also won a George G. Stone Center Recognition of Merit, a Georgia Children's Book Award, and is a
Reading Rainbow
''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterwards PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 ...
book. Viorst followed this book up with three sequels, ''Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday'', ''Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move'', and ''Alexander, Who's Trying His Best to Be the Best Boy Ever''.
Plot
Alexander narrates the story of having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. From the moment Alexander woke up, he noticed the bubble gum that was in his mouth when he fell asleep had now gotten stuck in his hair. Then, when he got out of bed, he tripped on his skateboard. In the bathroom, he accidentally dropped his favorite sweater into the sink while the water was on. His brothers, Anthony and Nick, find prizes in their breakfast cereal boxes, whereas Alexander does not.
In the carpool on the way to school, Alexander sits between two other kids in back and his complaints are ignored. At school, Alexander's teacher discourages his picture of the "invisible castle", which is really just a blank sheet of paper. She later criticizes him for singing too loudly, and scolds him for skipping the number 16 at counting time. At recess, Alexander's best friend Paul tells him that he is now only his third-best friend. Then, Alexander finds that his mother neglected to include a dessert with his lunch.
After school, Alexander's mother takes him and his brothers to the dentist who finds a cavity in Alexander's mouth. Alexander then recalls other bad things on the way back to the car. First the elevator door closed on his foot and outside Anthony pushed Alexander into a mud puddle and Nick called him a "cry baby". Finally, when Alexander started hitting his brother for calling him names, his mother scolded him for getting dirty and starting a fight.
At the shoe store, Alexander wants blue sneakers with red stripes, but they are sold out. His mother buys him plain white shoes, which are the only ones available in his size, but he refuses to wear them. When his family comes to pick up his father at the office, Alexander plays with the copying machine, knocks over books, and tries to use the telephone, resulting in the father asking the family not to pick him up anymore.
That night, after having lima beans for dinner, Alexander is disgusted by kissing on TV, his bathwater is too hot, soap gets in his eyes, his marble is lost in the drain, and he is forced to wear his "railroad-train" pajamas. Lastly, at bedtime, Nick has taken back a pillow he said Alexander could keep, Alexander's
nightlight
A nightlight is a small light fixture, usually electrical, placed for comfort or convenience in dark areas or areas that may become dark at certain times, such as at night or during an emergency. Small long-burning candles serving a similar fun ...
burns out, he bites his tongue, and the cat chooses to sleep with Anthony instead of him.
A
running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
throughout the book consists of Alexander wishing to move to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
because he thinks life is better there.
His mother assures him that everybody has bad days, even people in Australia. In the Australian and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
versions of the book, he wants to move to
Timbuktu
Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou;
Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...
instead.
TV adaptation
On September 15, 1990, the book was adapted into a thirty-minute animated musical
television special
A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...
that was produced by
Klasky Csupo
Klasky-Csupo, Inc. (stylized as KLaSKY CSUPO INC., doing business as Klasky Csupo, ) is an American animation studio located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó (he ...
and aired on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
in the United States. Along with some alterations to the designs of the supporting characters, along with the cat's name being Timothy, and additions to the plot, most notably Alexander searching for his lost yo-yo throughout, 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
*
Daniel Tamberelli as Alexander (speaking voice)
**Todd Defreitas as Alexander (singing voice)
*Joey Rigol as Nick
*Devon Michaels as Anthony
*
Linda Wallem
Linda Wallem (born May 29, 1961) is an American actress, writer, and producer.
Early life
Wallem was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and raised in Rockford, Illinois. She is the older sister of actor Stephen Wallem who co-stars on her show ''Nurse ...
as Mom
*
Steve Barton
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen
Notable people with the name include:
steve jops
* Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people
* Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people
* Steve ...
as Dad
*Stephanie Maddin as Mrs. Dickens
*
William Bogert
William Bogert (January 24, 1936 – January 12, 2020) was an American character actor best known for his roles as Brandon Brindle on the TV series ''Small Wonder'' from 1985 to 1989, Kent Wallace, the host of ''Chappelle's Show''s '' Frontline' ...
as Dr. Fields
*
Skip Hinnant
Joseph Howard "Skip" Hinnant (born September 12, 1940) is an American actor, singer, voice actor and comedian.
Career
Skip Hinnant's first major role was as Cathy's boyfriend, Ted, on ''The Patty Duke Show'' from 1963 to 1965. In 1967, he pla ...
as Shoe Salesman
*Ashley Carin as Girl #1
*Erin Torpey as Girl #2
*Buddy Smith as Paul
*Daniel Riefsnyder as Phillip
*Z. Wright as Albert
Other media
In 1998, Viorst and the
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
joined together to turn the book into a musical production.
Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse (born June 7, 1928) is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as ''Bye Bye Birdie (musical), Bye Bye Birdie'', ''Applause (musical), Applause'', and ''Annie (musical), Annie''. ...
wrote the music, Viorst wrote the script and lyrics, and the musical score was composed by Shelly Markham.
The productions have been performed around the country.
Other characters in it are Audrey, Becky, and many others.
A
Disney live-action film adaptation with not much involvement from the book was released in 2014. In 2020, it was reported that another film version was being developed for
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
.
Characters
Alexander and his two older brothers, Anthony and Nick, are based on Viorst's own three sons of the same names. But the film changed Nick to Emily, replacing the brother with a sister, and adds Trevor as well.
Posterity
The phrase "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad . . ." has become an
Internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
, often used by bloggers, and sometimes by mainstream media, to criticize, or characterize setbacks for, an individual or political movement.
The title is also used in the song "
A-O-K" by
Tai Verdes
Tyler Colon, known professionally as Tai Verdes, is an American singer-songwriter. He grew up in California; he played guitar, piano, and ukulele. Playing on the basketball team during his attendance at Babson College, he maintained his love fo ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
American picture books
1972 children's books
Children's books adapted into films
Atheneum Books books