Title and Author:


Field of Philosophy: Metaphysics; Aesthetics

Plot Summary: Alexander is having an awful day. His day begins when he wakes up with gum in his hair, trips on a skateboard, and drops his sweater in the sink, and everything seems to go wrong all day long.

Some discussion questions:

What does it mean to be in a bad mood? How do you know you’re in a bad mood? Can the mood you’re in affect what happens to you during the day? What makes a day a bad one? Is any day completely bad or completely good? Alexander says that Mrs. Dickens liked Paul’s picture of the sailboat better than Alexander’s picture of the invisible castle. What makes one drawing better than another? Does a drawing have to be something we can see? What makes someone qualified to be a judge of art? If Alexander thinks it’s art, it it?