Meet Author Judith Viorst

Author Judith Viorst’s most famous book for children is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972). The title has sold more than two-million copies and was made into a feature-length film in 2014 that starred Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner and Ed Oxenbould.

SCR kicks off its Theatre for Young Audiences season with the delightful musical version of Viorst’s iconic book that can turn around any bad day and put a smile on even the crabbiest of faces. Perfect entertainment for the entire family, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day runs from Nov. 8-24, 2019 on the Argyros Stage.

Viorst was born in Newark and grew up in New Jersey. She earned her BA from Rutgers University and is an alumna of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. As a noted children’s author, Viorst’s works include The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (1971), The Alphabet from Z to A (1994), and the Lulu stories: Lulu and the Brontosaurus (2010, illustrated by Lane Smith), Lulu Walks the Dogs (2012, illustrated by Lane Smith) and Lulu’s Mysterious Mission (2014, illustrated by Kevin Cornell). She also wrote three sequels to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. In addition, She has written books of poetry for children including What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books 2016, illustrated by Lee White).

Viorst is also a novelist, poet and psychoanalytic researcher and journalist. Her series of light verse books on aging include Nearing 90 (And Other Comedies of Late Life), Unexpectedly 80: And Other Adaptations (2010), I’m Too Young to Be 70 and Other Delusions (2005) and Suddenly 60 and Other Shocks of Later Life (2000). She is also the author of the poetry collection Wait For Me: The Irritations and Consolations of a Long Marriage (2015). Her works of nonfiction draw on psychoanalysis and psychology, philosophy and the social sciences including the New York Times bestselling Necessary Losses (1986; 1998). Murdering Mr. Monti (1994) is her first novel for adults. Viorst lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, the political writer Milton Viorst.

• Learn about Judith Viorst’s inspiration for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in this Q&A with Scholastic Magazine
• Learn about Judith Viorst’s most recent work in this NPR article.