Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No good, Very bad day by Judith Viorst

This picture book is about a boy who wakes up and cannot seem to catch a break. As soon as he gets out of bed he trips of a skateboard, drops his sweater in the wet sink, he doesn’t get an amazing prize out of his cereal box, like his brothers do, and it all escalates from there. His friend leaves him to play with someone else, the dentist finds a cavity in his mouth and he has to eat lima beans for dinner. Many other things happen that Alexander dislikes his mother assures him that everybody has bad days.

This book is a very cute depiction of a young boy whose day is turning into a catastrophe. Every child would feel some connection to this story as everyday can’t always be a good day; sometimes we just have to deal with bad days. This story is a great message for students to realise that everybody has bad days everywhere all over the world and also that the emotions that arouse due to these bad days can be confusing and tiring. This book is also relatable as everything that happens to Alexander could happen to anyone, like being picked on by your brother or tripping on a skateboard.

This book would be great for students in  year reception to year five but the concepts can also be enjoyed by older students.