National Network for Equitable Library Service

When Alexander wakes up with gum in his hair, he thinks that maybe it's going to be a bad day. When he trips on the skateboard by his bed and drops his sweater in the sink, he knows it's going to be even worse than he thought. His brothers find fabulous prizes in their cereal boxes; he finds cereal. His best friends get fancy desserts in their lunch boxes; Mom forgets dessert. From being scrunched in the car on the way to school all the way to lima beans for supper and kissing on TV (yuck!), the day just keeps getting worse. It's enough to make him want to move to Australia. A popular and prolific author of children's books, Judith Viorst writes so that kids can recognize themselves in her stories. Johnny Heller's sympathetic reading lets the child in everybody identify with Alexander's predicament and his temptation to go somewhere far away.