Just in Case by Judith Viorst

Just in Case Reviews

• 
  Runa

  I saw this one at work and picked it up and it just made me so so happy to see a book that seems PERFECT for children with anxiety and worries! It tells them that it's okay to be the way they are, and that sometimes, anxiety can be kind of useful, and you can even have fun with it, in a way? I don't know, but any book that tells a child they are not alone and not weird for being worried is a good one in my eyes.
• 
  Kelly

  The book tells of a little boy who likes to be prepared...just in case something should go wrong.
• 
  Lindsey

  Very cute
• 
  Lynn Davidson

  Charlie is a boy who has always been prepared for everything, in fact, he is often over-prepared. One day he thinks he is prepared for a special event, but he wasn't prepared at all!, which turned out to be not a bad thing after all. Nicely illustrated.
• 
  Ariel Cummins

  Charlie knows that all kinds of things can happen. It could rain so hard the furniture starts to float, or a lion could get lose, or all the stores could stop selling food for a really long time (I think Charlie's been reading too much YA lit recently!). So he makes sure to always be prepared! Until it's his birthday, and he's prepared...for nothing!
  
  The mixed media illustrations are bright and full of texture, and pop off the white backgrounds.
  
  This one just didn't really do it for me. It seemed like the rhyme went back and forth from working pretty well to not existing. And Charlie is such a worrier!
• 
  Eva-Marie

  This was a cute story, I couldn't call it anything special. Actually I'm thankful I still have it sitting here or else I probably wouldn't have been able to write anything because I couldn't remember reading it with Julia. But she does apparently because when I asked her she said we'd read it. When I finally flipped through I started to remember a little.
  Maybe it's because of the amount of books we've run through this week, I don't know. Either way though, it's definitely not on any favorite list of ours.
• 
  Angela Hutchinson

  Charlie is a little boy that likes to be ready for anything that may come his way. This book poses some creative thinking on Charlies part because of all of the ideas that run through his mind. The ending was great! Charlie learned that although it is great to be prepared for things that happen it life, sometimes it doesn't happen. Charlie still wants to do his best to be ready for any circumstances that comes his way. Students need to know that sometimes things happen and life does not always turn out the way we have planned.
• 
  Andrew

  I'm a big fan of Alexander and the terrible, horrible, very bad, no good day, and I also like Alexander who used to be rich last Sunday. This one didn't really do it for me as a children's book. I like it alright as a concept, and I feel like Judith Viorst has some great moments, but it goes on too long and I'm not sure what age cohort this would really appeal to. Seems like the editor had the week off before this went out for publication.
• 
  Amy

  Mom told me about this book today. Man, I love picture books. Magic on paper.
  
  Viorst had an impact on me when I was little as well: Whenever my babysitter would pick me up from elementary school and ask me how my day was I would say, "Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad." I wasn't that into school.
• 
  Dolly

  A unique story about a unique little boy who wants to be ready, likes to be ready... just in case. He brings all kinds of things with him wherever he goes in case some odd occurrence happens, but is unprepared for a surprise birthday party. We've borrowed this one a couple of times from the library. Our girls like to echo the part "Just in case" throughout the book.
• 
  Talisa Timms

  This book is about a boy who is always ready for whatever comes his way. I'm not sure I would incorporate this book in my classroom, but it is cute to see a child care about the little things so much. In my opinion, the boy is very pessimistic. I want my students to have a more optimistic outlook on any situation in their life.
• 
  Leyla

  I loved the repetitiveness. Although I read it with a lot of emphasis on the repeated words in the hopes my 5-year-old would get it and repeat along with me she wouldn't do it, instead she would giggle every time she heard the "just in case" because she knew those are words Mommy says all the time! :) My lovely Jen <3
• 
  Romelle

  An interesting read with long poetic sentences loaded with the conjunction- "and." The repetitive verse, "...Charlie tries to be ready. And Charlie likes to be ready, just in case" makes a nice read aloud. The story of Charlie, who goes through an adventurous day of preparedness for the unexpected, is fun and whacky. But it has a tendency to be long-winded (like my review).
• 
  Jen

  Wonderful book for the pre-school set. The illustrations are great, but even more compelling are the possibilities of what could happen in a child's "everyday" life. For the kid who likes to go to the supermarket with his cape on (like my son), this book will help them justify their whims.
• 
  Jennifer Barnes

  This is a book about a little boy named Charlie that has a lot of anxiety in his life. It's too cute!
• 
  Sarah

  Mom, read the description of this one! The title character is a Charlie. And it's a Judith Viorst, sounds like a must-read to me!
• 
  Mary

  great illustrations!
• 
  Janna Peterson

  This was a very beautifully illustrated book and the repeated text would be great for younger grades to follow and participate in!
• 
  Bree

  Notes:
  neurotic main character
  too fear-based
• 
  The Brothers

  A little boy prepares himself for all sorts of outlandish scenarios - JUST IN CASE!
  
  Fun illustrations.
• 
  Colby Sharp

  First read 10/23/12
  
  Reread 4/2/2012
• 
  Terry

  I LOVE the layers in this book and that young readers can make it their own. On the surface, it is a book about a little boy with a big imagination. Go a little deeper and you might discover a child who has anxiety. Kids who get nervous about change or think little things snowball into big things will see themselves in Charlie. For those children, this is a wonderful, reassuring story.
  
  Read more of our review
  at the Reading Tub.