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[A drawing of Alexander]
[Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day]

[Tour Schedule]
[Behind the Scenes]
[The Author, Judith Viorst]
[Student's Corner]

[the StorytimeOnline logo]

An online adaptation of
Alexander, read by author
Judith Viorst with the
original illustrations

Click here to play

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

Author Judith Viorst, in alliance with the nation’s center for the performing arts, tackled a new challenge in taking her beloved characters from Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day from the page to stages across the country.

From the moment he wakes up with gum in his hair, things just do not go Alexander's way. At breakfast, Alexander's brothers Nick and Anthony reach into their cereal boxes and pull out amazing prizes, while all Alexander ends up with is . . . cereal. The situation does not get any better at school, in fact it gets worse. No wonder Alexander wants to move to Australia! In Australia, everything is upside down, so maybe a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day can become a wonderful, terrific, really good day. After school, Alexander encounters even more bad news when he visits the dentist and goes shopping for sneakers with his mother and brothers. And Alexander's father isn't at all happy with him when the boys visit his office and Alexander gets a little carried away with the new copying machine! This terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is enough to make anyone want to go to Australia!

"I’m thrilled to have another opportunity to share Alexander with so many children. I hope that both young and old will learn and laugh together," said Viorst. "And, most of all, I hope they will have a wonderful, marvelous, fabulous, very good day."

"As the nation’s center for the performing arts, it is the Kennedy Center’s key priority to commission original productions like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to nurture the spirit and enhance the lives of children, parents and teachers," said former Kennedy Center President Lawrence J. Wilker (1991-2001).

 
Performances for Young Audiences | Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour | KC Home Page

Illustrations by Ray Cruz.Used with permission by Anthenum Books.