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

By: Judith Viorst 

Illustrated by: Ray Cruz

  In Judith Viorst’s “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” she accurately describes one of those days as a child when nothing seemed to go your way. From the moment that the main character, Alexander wakes up, to the moment he goes back to sleep that night, his day is filled with a series of adolescent atrocities that not only ruin his day, but further fuel his ambition to move to Australia.

The genre of this book is solely a children’s graphic novel, with an underlined theme of we all have bad days, but it’s all about how you deal with it. The unfortunate events that take place with Alexander and his responses to them generate the comical backbone of this text.  The novel is told from Alexander’s point of view, it is set in many various locations, all relative to Alexander’s life. The other characters are Alexander’s family, classmates, and Dentist.

Only the cover of the book was given color, the rest of the artwork is done in black and white, with an interesting shadowing technique throughout the book. Ray Cruz the illustrator created artwork that precisely described what was happening in the text.  There are an equal number of pages with a full-page spread, versus pages with a one-page picture, while the other has a reaction of Alexander underneath the text, leaving plenty of room for Alexander to entertain readers.

The author effectively illuminated her title in the content and the artist portrayed each occurrence precisely. Ms. Viorst seems to have a that’s life, deal with it, kind of attitude, which I can relate to, and appreciate. There are no hidden messages, just everyday calamity. Appropriate for ages 5 and up. 

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace was written by Mary Hoffman and illustrated by Caroline Binch. In the genre of realistic fiction the things that take place in this book can most certainly be done everyday by young adventurous children in the home as well as in the classroom. The stories setting is at first in Grace's home in her backyard where she acts out all the characters in her favorite stories next the setting moves to the ballet where her grandmother takes her to see an African American star ballerina and the setting ends in school where Grace acts out Peter Pan even though her friends told her she could not be him for various reasons. The theme in this story is simple and concise you can be and do anything that you put your mind to and never let anyone tell you different, no matter who you are. The art in this story is phenomenal Mary Hoffman uses water colors to depict Grace using her imagination and using things she finds around her home to act out her favorite characters. The placement on the page at times places Grace on the cover of her favorite stories. The literary and artistic elements are very effective in this story they convey the meaning very well and the author both uplifts and entertains the reader. This book will always be socially relevant because there will always be someone who tells you cant do something and you have to believe in yourself and show them you can.


Works Cited :(Hoffman, Mary. Amazing Grace. London England: Dial Books , 1991.).

Please, Baby, Please

Lee, Spike and Lee, Tonya Lewis. Please Baby Please. Illustrated by Nelson, Kadir. New York. Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers. 2002

The book Please, baby, please by spike lee and Tonya Lewis Lee falls into the category of realistic fiction. Textually, it is realistic fiction because it has a strong sense of actuality and it’s about people and events that could actually happen. In the story the characters illuminate life presenting social and personal concerns of a mother and child in a fully human context. The literary elements support this in many ways. On each page the time is given and the place is shown are vivid, realistic, and could possibly exist. The mother, daughter, and father reflect human beings we know and are authentic, fully developed, change throughout the story, and are influenced by the plot. The point of view reflects the mother’s day-to-day process. And finally the theme reflects and important issue of contemporary society of the relationship between a mother and child and child care. These themes are intrinsic situations that matters to young readers lives.

The art of this picture book was illustrated by Kadir Nelson, a Caldecott award winner whose oil paintings and realistic art helped to convey the story. Through use of warm colors he helps to put the reader into the story as well as reminding readers of a mother’s love. The pictures also a good use of the artwork on the page taking up the entire page and leaving no empty spaces. The line, shape, texture, color, and design work to highly define objects and give them a realistic feel.

Seven Blind Mice

Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice. New York: Puffin Books, 1992.

The 1992 Caldecott award winning “Seven Blind Mice” is an exquisite children’s book that tells the story of how seven tiny creatures use their sense of touch to figure out what “strange something” has come to their pond and each come up with a different answer. This story is told by the point of view of an outsider and is a perfect combination of textual and artistic elements to make the reader fully understand the moral of the story.

The illustration is what makes this book such a great read. The whole book has the same backdrop of black that gives the reader the feeling of being blind like the mice. Each mouse has its own bright color and the mouse’s thought of what the “strange something” is has the same color as well. It is Ed Young’s use of a textured, cut-paper technique to help the readers see how an elephant’s tail just dangling there can be mistaken for a rope and an elephant’s sturdy trunk can be mistaken for a spear.

So all these elements aide in the moral of the story which is the theme of most fables and that moral is “Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole” (Young 39). Ed Young tells a fantastic story that children can understand with the aide of the pictures and gives them something to think about at the end.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Munsch, Robert. Love You Forever. Ontario, Canada: Firefly Books Ltd., 1986.
Illustrated by Sheila McGraw

Love You Forever is a realistic fiction book about the relationship between a mother and her son. She has a special song that she sings to him every night when he falls asleep. As he begins to grow up he causes a lot of trouble but every night his mom is still there for him, holds him, and sings the special song. Even when he grows up and moves out she sometimes drives to his house at night and sings to him. The mother then gets old and sick and her son takes care of her and sings the song to her. He then begins to care for his newborn daughter with the same love his mom had for him and he sings the song to his daughter.
The pictures also play an important role in this book. Each picture goes along very well with the descriptions of what the son is doing. The writing is always on the left side of the book and the picture to go with it is on the right. If you were to look solely at the pictures you would probably come up with a similar story of the love a parent has for a child no matter what they do. You might not know that the mother sings to the child every night, but the pictures are so detailed and descriptive that the main point of the story would be understood. Also, the colors of the pictures go with the context as well. All of the pictures of the mother in her son’s room are more dull and soft colors. It portrays love and caring. The pictures of the son causing trouble, being a crazy teenager, and moving out are all bright colors. That portrays more craziness and the chaos of a boy’s life. You can really sense the different emotions between the crazy days of the son and the loving relationship that the mother has with her son at nighttime. Also, in all of the pictures with the son during the day he is the center of the picture. The picture seems to be centered on his actions, whether they’re causing a disaster, being dirty, or even living in a new house without his mother. The illustrator does a great job of focusing on the son. This is a great story for children of all ages and even adults, especially if read with their child(ren).


Resource used:
Galda, Lee., and Bernice E. Cullinan. Literature and the Child: Sixth Edition.Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.

Chanticleer and the Fox- Martin Erickson

Martin Erickson
TE 348 Sect. 002
10/21/08
Chanticleer and the Fox

Retold by: Fulton Roberts
Illustrated by: Marc Davis

This story, originated by Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and adapted by Barbara Cooney in 1958, was redone extremely well by writer Fulton Roberts and the legendary illustrator Marc Davis. This enchanting fable is about the vain rooster Chanticleer who rules the village as the appointed Mayor with pompous severity until the sly fox Reynard arrives with the intentions of ending the rooster’s reign and eating all the beautiful hens. Fun and mayhem take over the city under Reynard’s influence and Chanticleer soon loses all his friends and supporters, until the fox finally crosses the line. In the end, Chanticleer learns that “no one in the village is more important than anyone else” (31), and the townspeople also realize that they need Chanticleer because they “do not get up by [themselves]. [They] still need Chanticleer to wake [them]” (31). This story of how Chanticleer learns a valuable lesson, and how the villagers come to appreciate his true talents, show how vanity and pride can destroy even the best of relationships with the people you care most about.
The colorful characters portrayed by animals in this fable really bring the book to life. The book is written in third-person objective-omniscient like other classic Disney tails. The artwork, done by the famous Disney cartoonist Marc Davis, is very unique in the way that it is somewhat rough, yet very detailed and colorful. The details of the characters shine in this book and are in classic Disney form that children of all ages will appreciate.

Works Cited
Roberts, Fulton. Chanticleer and the Fox 500 South Buena Vista St., Burbank, California
Disney Press, 1991

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR

Wood, Audrey and Don. The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear. Illustrated by Wood, Don. Singapore. Child’s Play Int, 1984.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The BIG HUNGRY BEAR is a wonderful children’s book that excites the reader and gets them involved in the story. The story begins with a little mouse who is about to pick a very red ripe strawberry. The reader then goes into conversation with the little mouse warning him against the danger of picking the strawberry because there is a big hungry bear who likes red ripe strawberries that have been picked. The story continues through showing how the mouse proceeds to protect the strawberry and keep it safe from the awaiting bear’s claws. Alas, the reader comes up with a solution that all his problems can be solved if the mouse shares the strawberry with him.

This story is a great way to make kids laugh and become an all time favorite. Reader’s have the option to change the pitch in their voice and make scary noises to add fun to the story. Most likely to be categorized under fantasy, the little mouse in the story is a clever little hero who is as cute as a button and easily brings joy to children. Written in 1984 by Don and Audrey Woods and illustrated by Don, the simple text is greatly complimented by the detailed illustration and puts most of the story into the artwork and less in the words. The light shading on the background and the hard defined lines of the mouse and the strawberry help readers pay close attention to the plot of the story. This book is a great example of anticipation and is one of the many stories that children can carry with them for years to come.