What can we say? Alexander does not like his life at this point. Things that he might normally enjoy—like sweet, sweet cereal—are rendered terrible by his mood. And in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, things just build on each other like a snowball; but the snowball is made of swamp scum and rotten avocado skins.
The funny thing is, Alexander also feels like all this stuff is just flat out happening to him. No blame is his, even when it is clearly his own fault. And that's the key to his feeling of injustice: nothing—absolutely nothing—is fair on this particular day.
Questions About Dissatisfaction and Injustice
- Which parts of the day are actually unfair?
- Which parts of the day is Alexander responsible for?
- Look at the pictures with your child. Can they tell which of Alexander's expressions look the most upset?
Chew on This
Even though it seems like everything is only happening to Alexander, other people probably had bad days, too.
Alexander's bad mood made his day get worse and worse, but he could have made it better if he had tried to cheer up.