Judith Viorst Books

Okay, I'll admit it. It's cool to see the look on Alex's face when he gets books that have his name in them. And this was definitely a winner. We'd checked out 'the horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day', so I knew he'd like this one. Of course when we read it together he reads what Alexander says. It's pretty cool.

Alexander? He'd be quite middle-aged by now, perhaps with children of his own.

It would have been great if we had seen some stories of middle-school Alexander, teenage Alexander, Alexander at college, Alexander starting his career, meeting Mrs. Alexander, dealing with his own kids. . .

My son's name is Alexander (goes by Alex). I gave this to him as a birthday gift and we have read it over and over many times. The three short stories are just the right length for a bedtime story. This book has humor and the boy, Alexander, is one boy that all children can relate too. The illustrations are great too! I highly recommend this for any child.

I grew up just loving Alexander in Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. My mother read it to us a children (ok, so now you know I'm not too old!) and I was just thrilled to see such a good copy of not only it but the other Alexander stories as well. The library binding is very nice and this book will definitely be a keepsake for my children someday. If you like to have books to pass on, this one's for you!

.....that they or their friends may have to face in their young lives. In one story Alexander deals with issues surrounding moving to a new neighborhood. In another he deals with the repercussions of spending all his money. And, in the last, he deals with just a plain old bad day where nothing seems to go right. In each story Alexander feels kind of glum and is afraid that no one understands his struggle. By the end of each story though, he learns a lesson and learns his responsibility for his actions. The stories don�t end on particularly happy notes, where all works out despite everything, but rather shows a given realization being reached by young Alexander: that if you spend your money frivolously, you won�t �be rich�, that everyone has bad days and it�s just part of life, and that sometimes we have to do things we are afraid of and that we don�t want to do, such as move to a new neighborhood.

The stories are written on about a second grade reading level. Kids ages seven and eight will have little difficulty with the language or with following the story line. Honestly though, I�m not sure that kids this age will get the moral of the story on their own. They may just see the ending where Alexander doesn�t get what he wants as unfulfilling until an adult explains further.

I've been married one year, have just read this book and I loved it. The book promotes standing by your partner. My parents were divorced, and according to this book it puts me at a greater risk of getting divorced. With that in mind, I'll work as hard as I can on taking good care of my marriage.

Judith Viorst has articulated some profound insights on married life- why do we choose to get married, why do marriages fail, why do we stay married. She addresses some of the problems marriages today face- infidelity, "sibling rivalry", yet the book is a surprisingly uplifting celebration of married life and the value of sticking it out through the tough times.

This book should be compulsory reading for any couple contemplating marriage. In a sometimes gut-wrenching analysis of modern marriage, Viorst spells out the fallacies of our society's view on marital bliss in a way that will challenge and, on occasion, shock you with its ability to reflect your own romantic relationship.

One of the most provocative chapters is, "The First Shocks of Marriage." This chapter outlines the expectations we bring into marriage and the feelings of betrayal that result when those expectations are invariably, and sometimes brutally, crushed. As a divorced, middle-aged woman with many female friends who maintain a 'revolving door' of romantic relationships, the concept of feeling emotionally betrayed is one that will speak to every woman...and should be understood by every man. Viorst cites the common female viewpoint that "marriage should be nothing less than love, adoration, companionship, physical intimacy, emotional availability, respect, humor and tolerance." And the male viewpoint Viorst cites is one that expects a wife to "respect his need for autonomy and give him plenty of room to do his own thing." Yet, if anything, the reality of marriage teaches us that we often won't get all, or even some, of what we expected.

One lesson every individual who reads this book should learn, and learn, and learn yet once again, is that marriage is work...Work...WORK. This book, like no other I have read, made me question whether I'm up to it. :-) It also made me realize that, when it does work, when both halves of the couple (not either/or) are willing to work diligently at keeping the dream alive, the reward is priceless.

I wish this book had been written a year ago when my own "starter marriage" was falling apart. There were so many instances in the book where I could point to a passage and say, "Yep! That's us." "That's totally what happened to us too!" etc. It might have saved my marriage. But I'm glad to have read this book later rather than never. With an impressive understanding of human nature, Viorst touches upon the many delicate interrelational factors that causes strain in people's marriages as well as second (and third) marriages, and why seemingly happy couples divorce while destructive, unhappy couples stay together. This is a worthwhile, mandatory read for every couple who plans to get married or is already married or might be thinking of divorce. Do your loved ones a favor and give this book to a future bride or bridegroom as a wedding gift. It's one of the best relationship tune-ups you'll read.

This is a terrific book for anyone at any stage in marriage - I read it as I was on the brink of divorce, I read most of it and had suggested to my husband that he read a chapter of it. Things have turned around and we are on the road to repair and re-comittment it seems, this book may have saved us.

Judith has wit and charm and sensibility combined to talk about various aspects of marriage, about everyday marriage - and how to improve it, about how various factors can affect marriage at various stages. Thumbs, fingers and toes are all up for Judiths book!

Overall, this was an excellent book. It does not differ much from the english version, and it is, as is the english, wonderfully illustrated. It is not perfect, however. I thought that it was well translated into spanish, however, the words are not as easily read and understood as the english version. Also, it was very disappointing to me that the character's names are the traditional, english names, and were not translated into their spanish cognates. That detracts from any feelings of non-ethnicity and partiality that good literature nees.

Our whole family enjoys reading this book. With its repetition of the "horrible, terrible..." day, we now can all read those parts together. And when the kids have a bad day, we can refer to the book (and talk about going to Australia). It helps to make light of a bad day.

A friend in a college language class (not Spanish I'm afraid) advised me that books familiar to us in English are one of the best ways to increase our vocabulary in our target language. I took her up on it then, and when both I and my niece enrolled in Spanish classes (I at the local community college, with tuition paid for by my employer; she in junior high), I purchased this book for her and some other books for myself.

My family has always loved this Judith Viorst book in English. As well as having borrowing rights to Jerica's version, I own a copy of the original English, and find it downright cathartic to read when I've had a no good, terrible, horrible, very bad day. I have been known to purchase copies for friends after they've had no good,terrible, horrible,very bad days.

The key to Alexander's survival in this story, in which he continuously stews about whether he should move to Australia to avoid such horror, is the knowledge that we all have such days sometimes...and it's OK. The perfect book for a kid (or adult) who's struggling with school, friends, siblings, learning a new language, or just about anything.

Highly recommended, in any language.

This is a great book for those of us who want to raise our children bilingually and equally wonderful for Spanish-speakers. The Spanish is fun--I also love the repetition of "el día terrible, horrible..." The fact that the names are not translated is fine--not all English names have a Spanish translation and vice-versa. I believe it keeps the integrity of the original version and the Alexander character.

Qué dice un niño al que TODO le sale mal ? "Me voy a Australia !". Los dibujos - en blanco y negro - están espléndidamente ilustrados, la cara de Alexander es indescriptible por su picardía. Un libro para leer y ver con los hijos a la hora de dormir. Un libro alentador, especial para aquellos niños "difíciles"

my son's name is michael and when he was younger, his best friend's name was rose. they were the real-life rosie and michael. it was wonderful finding this book. we've since moved away, but they both still have their copies and keep in touch.

As a camp counselor, we use this book all of the time to show the importance a friendship can have in the lives of children. The book is super-humorous, and keeps your attention, while also able to carry on the important message, that through everything, your friends will always be there

As a college student, my professor introduced me to this wonderful author and book. This is a exciting book to give away to the best of friends! It is a story of a most true friendship that people of all backgrounds can relate to. Rosie and Michael take us through the rollercoasters of young friendship and allow us to reminisce as well as find gratitude for all true companions.

My best friend and I have adopted this book as "our book." We read it when we miss each other and it brings back all the memories of a great childhood friendship. This is a book that shouldn't be passed over. This is truly one of my favorites and is perfect for any occasion!

An almost unknown, and thoroughly underappreciated, classic of children's books, which seems to scream out "Buy me for your significant other!" Curiously, it's a little graphic in some of the descriptions - buy the book and you'll probably understand what I mean - but that only makes it all the more charming. Highly recommended.

I bought this for my 5 year old grandson who is about to become a big brother and who loves to wake his parents on Sunday Mornings. He absolutely loved this book despite the fact that it was written about 40 years ago and doesn't have transformers or robots in it. I have always loved Judith Viorst's writing and it is a joy to pass it along to the next generation.

Wouldn't it be great if our little kids slept in on Sunday morning?! I bought this book because my 2 boys love the Judith Viorst's Alexander books. This one didn't disappoint. My 4 and 6 year old love the illustrations and the mischief the 2 boys in the book get in to when their parents tell them not to wake them on Sunday morning. Of course the kids fight, and make a mess of the house. I guess my own kids can relate!

Three generations in our family continue to be delighted by and relate to the lighthearted mischief of two boys up early while their parents attempt to slumber.

I loved reading this book growing up because I could understand how the brothers felt about not waking their parents on the weekend. (Of course, if they just made a little racket, that would be okay.) This book is a funny example of how kids try to understand their parents, but just fall a little bit short.

I was so excited to find this book on Amazon. This was my and my sister's favorite book growing up. Everyone who has been a child can identify with the hours before their parents wake-up. It is hilarious!

As a teacher, I am always on the lookout for a great book that demonstrates the type of writing I am teaching. In this case, EARRINGS is a wonderful example of persuasion. The little girl is trying to convince her parents that she is ready for pierced ears, but her parents (like myself) are stubborn. She uses every form of persuasion, from begging to making deals, to get her parents to relent.
I use this book when introducing persuasive writing, to my fifth graders.

This is a wonderfully funny book to share with young girls. It's a perfect book to teach persuasion-if you're a teacher.

My sister really enjoyed this book and we checked is out of the library so much we had to but it for Christmas. A cute tale for all little girls to read.

My daughter recently gave me a graying original copy of "It's Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty and other tragedies of married life" by Judith Viorst, published first in 1968. Viorst is better known as the author of Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

The Hard to be Hip book was a surprise. I wondered what my daughter had in mind when she chose this book for me, a choice made I imagine at the library's old book give away. I still don't know what she was thinking, maybe of people in general or maybe the content of the book spoke to her about me. Viorst describes in a series of poems the progression of unHipness after marriage in the 60's. I understand these poems in ways I wish I did not understand.

The youthful idealism not only present in the 60's generation is an idealism shared by Henry David Thoreau groupies, modern art lovers, and minimalists past and present. If you majored in business, hard science, ENGINEERING, or anything really "useful" in life, and hated your English, philosophy, and music/art appreciation courses --if you took any at all, Viorst may sound to you like some pot smoking, bleeding heart liberal, socialist from the 60's who recovered just in time to join the suburban crush of SUV driver's who live in your neighborhood. And mine.

One of my favorites begins:

Once I aspired to
Humble black turtleneck sweaters
And spare unheated rooms
With the Kama Sutra, a few madrigals, and
Great literature and philosophy.


Viorst is known best for the "horrible ... day" book for children, and I think the popularity of the Alexander story is due to Viorst's ability to connect to humanity through literature and philosophy. There should be a Tao of Alexander!

I am younger than Viorst bya generation but her voice resonates with me through out the HIP book. I will buy new copies of this book for friends, but only for the really HIP ones!

And yes, I majored in English.

This book of poetry/short stories made me laugh. Hearing about other people's married life, in laws, etc. is just as funny as telling about my own. I was sad to realize that women have the same problems now as they did in 1970. Not knowing what this book was about when I bought it I was hoping for answers, but fortunately I got a laugh at least. Quite amusing for people interested in women's studies as well.

Judith Viorst's The Alphabet from Z to A (with much confusion on the way) is a rather unconventional alphabet book in verse. Starting at the end of the alphabet and progressing forward, each letter has one page devoted to it with verses ranging from two to seven lines, in varying rhythms. The verses address the confusing idiosyncrasies of the English language, complaining about homonyms, silent letters, and other anomalies in a slyly exasperated tone:

R is for RING, RANG, and RUNG,
And yet RONG would be wrong, dear.

Q is for QUEUE, but not CUE.
And for one QUIET QUESTION:
Are we almost done?
Answer: There's sixteen more letters
Still left in this song, dear.

The verses are accompanied by Richard Hull's surreal illustrations, done in crest- and seal-like vignettes against a stark white background. Observant readers will discover all kinds of objects starting with the same letter embedded in the exquisite illustrations. (The end of the book introduces a participatory aspect in the form of a list of words to be found in the book for a game of "I Spy" with difficult vocabulary for even highly-literate adults, such as xerophyte and kyphosis. Parenthetical definitions, explanations, and humorous asides obviate the need for the dictionary for these words, as well as words children may not know, such as olive drab and arbor.) The back cover describes the book as "An alphabet book for folks who already know their ABCs." Children who are grappling with the difficulties of matching letters and sounds in English will appreciate the tone of the verses and may even develop a special fondness for the idiosyncratic nature of our quirky language.

NECESSARY LOSSES was suggested as an interesting book to read for reasons
I later learned were understated. Judith Viorst helps the reader to
confront losses of any kind - loss of independence, loss of a loved one
or loved ones, marital difficulties, diappointments, pervasive loss of
one's personal sense of well being and adequacy. . .
We have loaned it out, given it as a gift many times over, and re-read
it many times over the years. Our thanks to the caring physician who
brought the book to my attention many moons ago. Good read! Good luck!

This book has always been one of my family's favories. Our mom had to read it to us daily--I think she had it memorized. Even now (when we're 30-ish) if my sister needs cheering up, I can always get a smile if I read her the part about the dungaree legs. I've given this book (and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day) to all of my friends' children & they love it too.