Whatever became of Alexander after that famously bad day? & did you know that Judith Viorst is his mother? & what happens to her passion for household neatness & orderliness, her deep devotion to schedules, her compulsive yearning to offer helpful advice when Alexander -- now grown up, married, & the father of three -- moves his family into his parents' house? What happens is controlled, & sometimes not so controlled, chaos, as lives & routines are turned upside down & the house is overrun with scattered toys, pacifiers, baby bottles, sippy cups, pink-sequined flip-flops, jigsaw puzzles, & fishy crackers.
With her characteristic sparkle & 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, & even to eventually figure out how to unlock the safety locks of the baby's (expletives deleted) bouncy seat. She describes how she & her husb&, while sometimes longing for the former peace & tranquillity of unravished rooms & quiet dinners for two unaccompanied by cries of " Oh, yuck!" survived & relished the extended visit of the Alexander Five. She also opens our eyes to the joys of multigenerational family living & 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 & loving book, enhanced throughout by Laura Gibson's delightful two-color drawings.