The Worst Day of My Life Ever! (Best Me I Can Be)

This is a wonderful book for explaining to children how they can take responsibility for their own day by listening and paying attention. I read this VERY often to my two children, 3 & 5 to go over how they could have made their own days better when we have "rough" days.

The story line for this story is great. Exactly what we are currently dealing with, with our 5 year old son. However the middle of the book looses the story line a bit and gets a little bit like lecturing - we usually skip that part.

Considering that kids with regulation difficulties are already higher risk for low self esteem because they experience a lot of failures in meeting expectations, this was just too "should" vibe with it's "i told you so!" for me to feel comfortable using with kids in sessions (i'm a psychotherapist). I did use it with a child who can't read because I could change the words to "problem is the problem" language instead of "kid is the problem" language. I also added in emphasis on how great it was that the kid in the story was trying to solve his problems (running in the halls because he wanted to get to class on time) and then focused on how to solve the problems before they happen- which is I think what the author was going for.

I do like the 2 pages that breakdown steps for listening and following directions, so I may use those and the second half of the book in the future.

Author Julia Cook, has an incredible gift of writing books for children! Her books teach important life skills, and are written through the child's view of the world. As an Elementary School Counselor I have incorporated many of Julia's books into my curriculum. I use The Worst Day of My Life Ever to kick off the school year with my students k-5. After reading the story and discussing the importance of listening and following directions I use developmentally appropriate activities fromThe Worst Day of My Life Ever! Activity Guide for Teachers: Classroom Ideas for Teaching the Skills of Listening and Following Instructions This book should be a STAPLE in every school as it shows kids how an entire day can change if they don't follow one simple rule or direction.

My child relates to the character in the book. We point out how his day could have been better had he "just followed instructions." Fun way to teach listening skills and practice following instructions.