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

Author: Judith Viorst

First line: I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Why you should read this book: After getting up on the wrong side of the bed, the young protagonist proceeds to have the most miserable day of his short life. Some of the troubles are of his own making, others small slights blown out of proportion, with a few insults that are simply not his fault, but every unhappy incident only compounds the boy's temper. There is no resolution to this story, merely the insinuation that "some days are like that," with the accompanying hope that other days aren't, making it a realistic portrayal of a child's internal world from an author who understands how kids think.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've never had a bad day.