Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday [Hardcover]

Judith Viorst (Author), Ray Cruz (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009 | Age Level: 4 and up

Anthony has two dollars and three quarters and one dime and seven nickels and eighteen pennies. Nicholas has one dollar and two quarters and five dimes and five nickels and thirteen pennies.

Alexander has...bus tokens.

And even when he's rich, pretty soon all he has is bus tokens.

He was rich. Last Sunday.

Grandma Betty and Grandpa Louie came and gave Anthony and Nicholas and Alexander each a dollar. Alexander was saving his. Maybe for a walkie-talkie.

And then there was bubble gum, some bets with Anthony and Nicholas (that Alexander lost), a snake rental, a garage sale, and all kinds of other things to spend money on.

And now all he has is bus tokens. When he used to be rich last Sunday.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Anthony has two dollars and three quarters and one dime and seven nickels and eighteen pennies. Nicholas has one dollar and two quarters and five dimes and five nickels and thirteen pennies. Alexander has...bus tokens. And even when he's rich, pretty soon all he has is bus tokens. He was rich. Last Sunday. Grandma Betty and Grandpa Louie came and gave Anthony and Nicholas and Alexander each a dollar. Alexander was saving his. Maybe for a walkie-talkie. And then there was bubble gum, some bets with Anthony and Nicholas (that Alexander lost), a snake rental, a garage sale, and all kinds of other things to spend money on. And now all he has is bus tokens. When he used to be rich last Sunday.END --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Judith Viorst was born and brought up in New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University, moved to Greenwich Village, and has lived in Washington, D.C., since 1960, when she married Milton Viorst, a political writer. They have three sons and seven grandchildren. Viorst writes in many different areas: science books, children's picture books, adult fiction and non-fiction, poetry for children and adults, and three musicals, which are still performed on stages around the country. She is best known for her beloved picture book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416996214
• ISBN-13: 978-1416996217
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Math Book?, December 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday (Hardcover)

I brought this book into a sixth grade class that was having trouble with decimals. I used it to help them make the connection between decimals and their lives. They listened with rapt attention, and then worked enthusiastically the rest of the period writing their own word problems with money. By the next day everyone got decimals. Judith Viorst is a muse! You can find everything in her works, from school and work to life and love. This book gave me (math phobic) a way to teach a math lesson from a Language Arts perspective that helped the students learn!

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alexander and his money are quickly parted..., April 6, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday (Paperback)

Judith Viorst's "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" is a classic of modern children's literature and probably many of us in my generation their first real thoughts about Australia. I was rather surprised to learn that there is a sequel of sorts from Viorst in the form of this 1978 story, "Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday." The problem is that Alexander's brother Anthony has two dollars, three quarters, one dime, seven nickels and eighteen pennies (do the math yourself) and his brother Nicholas has one dollar, two quarters, five dimes, five nickels and thirteen pennies (ditto). But all Alexander has are bus tokens. By the end of this story young readers will know why Alexander only has bus tokens despite the fact that last Sunday Alexander was rich because his Grandma Betty and Grandpa Louie came for a visit from New Jersey and gave each of the boys a dollar.

Alexander would really like to buy a walkie-talkie, but saving money is pretty hard for somebody his age. As we read this story, illustrated by Ray Cruz, we see how Alexander manages to end up with only bus tokens. I was going to say they would see what Alexander spends his money on, but spending implies getting something in return for your money and while that might apply to buying bubble gum and renting a snake, it does not apply to losing bets or being fined so saying words that little boys should not say. But then the point of Viorst's story is to make the idea of money management clear to young readers and the ways in which Alexander goes from being rich to being poor certainly drives home that particular lesson. As Alexander comes to realize, if you are absolutely positively going to save your money you have to get some money to save.

This book is not as charming as Alexander's original adventure, but then not many children's books rise to that level. However, for parents who have young children whose money is constantly burning a hole in their pockets, "Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday" could be a gentle way of making the point they have probably already made repeatedly. However, parents will almost certainly have to buy this book themselves, because even if this book is not as expensive as a walkie-talkie, it almost certainly will be beyond the current economic capacity of the kids who would most profit from reading it.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great first lesson in economics, November 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday (Paperback)

Here in Virginia, one of our 1st grade Standards of Learning concerns identifying and understanding concepts of economic resources. This is a great book to illustrate these concepts in a way accessible to young children.