"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" turns 50

Posted on June 2, 2022 at 7:40 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, NPR reached out to two important experts on the book.

One was its author, Judith Viorst.

The other was Alexander himself.

Specifically, Viorst's third son, Alexander, for whom she wrote the now-classic children's picture book.

While he doesn't think he lived the details of the book's epically awful day, the grown-up Alexander says his mother captured the essence of a miserable one.

You can read more from the Viorsts — and educators who use Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day as more than just entertainment — on NPR's website.