From the beloved and internationally bestselling author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst comes a brand-new collection of clever, hilarious, and poignant poems that touch on every aspect of the roller-coaster ride that is childhood.

Did you wake up this morning all smiley inside?
Does life taste like ice cream and cake?
Or does it seem more like your goldfish just died
And your insides are one great big ache?

From school to family to friends, from Grrrr to Hooray!, Judith Viorst takes us on a tour of feelings of all kinds in this thoughtful, funny, and charming collection of poetry that’s perfect for young readers just learning to sort out their own emotions. And how are you feeling today? Lonely, jealous, scared, silly? Fighting bullies or trying out for the school

play? Having methodically explored every adult decade of passage in previous works, beloved author

Viorst handily focuses on the emotions of her young audience in poems such as “I’m Not My Best

Friend’s Friend Anymore” and “What I Want to Know about My Dad.” As Viorst knows, even the best

parents get divorced, and sometimes you might get a baby sibling without ever being asked if you even

wanted one. Readers and listeners will find rhyming verses about school, family, friends, seasons, and

more, all using vocabulary that tickles. White’s blue-and-black illustrations match the feelings, whether

whimsical or skeptical. Ever honest, the best lines are those that share the confusion, challenges, and

questions of what it means to be you: “Too old to keep my teddy bear, / Too young to let him go. / I’m in

between and waiting / For the rest of me to grow.”