Alexander,+Who+Used+to+Be+Rich+Last+Sunday

Bibliographic Data: Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday Author: Judith Viorst Illustrator: Ray Cruz Publisher: Antheneum Books for Young Readers. 1978 Pages: 29 Language: English

Summary: When Alexander’s grandparents come to visit, they give him a dollar as a gift and encouraged him to save the dollar. He instantly thought he was rich and thought of all the things he could buy. Alexander has trouble saving his money and cannot resist spending it on chewing gum, losing bets with his brothers and useless things at a yard sale and soon, spent the whole dollar. Alexander then has to think of ways to earn more money. First he hopes he will lose a tooth but he has no tooth left to lose. He checks in phone booths for change but comes up empty. After many failed attempts, Alexander becomes discouraged and realizes he is left with a one-eyed teddy bear, a deck of cards that is missing cards, a used candle, a few bus tokens but no dollar.

Book Review: This is a fantastic book and I remember reading it when I was a child. I think all children can relate to this book even though it is almost 40 years old. Every child goes through the process of spending their tooth fairy money or birthday money but often do not have the capacity to save any of it because they are so excited to get new fun things. The message in the book is clear, be responsible, save your money until you know what you really want and don’t be impulsive like Alexander, who bought what turned out to a bunch of junk. The illustrations are great and the book reads well from beginning to end.

About the Author: Judith Viorst was born in the United States on February 3, 1931. She started her writing career writing children’s books. Her books usually deal with perils that most children face with humor. Some of the children’s books that she wrote were //I’ll Fix it Anthony, Try again, Sam: Safety When you Walk//, //The Tenth Good Thing About Barney//, this book deals with the pain of losing a pet. A lot of the books that she wrote were also based on her three sons, Anthony, Nicholas and Alexander. She also wrote books for adults too, including nonfiction psychology books.

Analysis of Literary Element: I think a truly important part of this book is the theme of responsibility, specifically financial responsibility. This theme and lesson taught is a life long one and really aims at impacting the reader’s future in financial responsibility. Most children who have receive any amount of money, think in the short term as they are still in the egocentric phase of development and instant gratification is a must. But, this book aims to humble a child who may have the habit of frivolous spending.