Whatever became of Alexander after that famously bad day?
And did you know that Judith Viorst is his mother? And what
happens to her passion for household neatness and
orderliness, her deep devotion to schedules, her compulsive
yearning to offer helpful advice when Alexander -- now grown
up, married, and the father of three -- moves his family
into his parents' house? What happens is controlled, and
sometimes not so controlled, chaos, as lives and routines
are turned upside down and the house is overrun with
scattered toys, pacifiers, baby bottles, sippy cups,
pink-sequined flip-flops, jigsaw puzzles, and fishy crackers.
With her characteristic sparkle and wit, Viorst relates her
efforts to (graciously) share space, to become (if only a
little bit) more flexible, to (sort of) keep her opinions to
herself, and even to eventually figure out how to
unlock the safety locks of the baby's (expletives deleted)
bouncy seat. She describes how she and her husband, while
sometimes longing for the former peace and tranquillity of
unravished rooms and quiet dinners for two unaccompanied by
cries of "Oh, yuck!" survived and relished the extended
visit of the Alexander Five. She also opens our eyes to the
joys of multigenerational family living and to the
unexpected opportunities to grow that life presents -- even
under the most unlikely circumstances.
Several generations of readers surely will relate to this
funny and loving book, enhanced throughout by Laura Gibson's
delightful two-color drawings.
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