Just in Case

by Judith Viorst, Diana Cain Bluthenthal (Illustrator)

Charlie is always ready for anything . . . just in case . What if it's raining very hard—so hard that rain could come into the house and make the furniture float? Charlie has a plan to keep himself dry . . . just in case . What if his parents are going out and he gets a babysitter who won't read to him or let him watch TV? Charlie has a plan for making his own fun . . . just in case . But as Charlie is about to find out, sometimes not being ready is even better.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime

29 pages, Paperback

First published January 3, 2006

About the author

Judith Viorst is an American writer, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher. She is known for her humorous observational poetry and for her children's literature. This includes The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (about the death of a pet) and the Alexander series of short picture books, which includes Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972), which has sold over two million copies.
Viorst is a 1952 graduate of the Newark College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. In 1968, she signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In the latter part of the 1970s, after two decades of writing for children and adults, Viorst turned to the study of Freudian psychology. In 1981, she became a research graduate at Washington Psychoanalytic Institute after six years of study.

Reviews

[Runa · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Aneesa]

Not her best work

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute

[Meredith]

I didn't really like this one.
I like the idea behind it because a lot of kids do have worries but it didn't work for me.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Emmaline MacBeath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlie is a worrier. He constantly prepares just in case the worst happens. When it is raining he is worried it will flood so while he is inside, he gets his rain gear and an inflatable boat. When he gets a bossy babysitter, he behaves badly to send her away. He worries food will not be available, so he makes 117 peanut butter sandwiches. This worrying behavior goes on for several more parts of the story.

The illustrations are mixed media and have a bit of a vintage feel to them. They are colorful and interesting.

I was very concerned about this book. It is a very long book with one situation after another in which Charlie worries and over-prepares. Never does someone soothe his fears. Instead, I leave the book feeling like perhaps I should be worrying more because I don't prepare like Charlie does. I feel this book sets children up for fears. I could see no other purpose of the story. It has no positive resolution in the end. Charlie's friends come over unexpectedly and Charlie is not prepared like he prefers to be.

This story is advertized for ages 3-7. I would not read this story to this age range as it may cause fears. I prefer stories that encourage positive thinking rather than the opposite. I love Judith Viorst, but I feel this is the first book of hers I have read that falls far short of the mark.

[Ariel Cummins · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Molly Toomey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie is ready for anything, for just in case. He worries about things such as rain, getting a bad babysitter, etc. He always has a back up plan for when he needs it. This book would be good for students who have worries about certain things, showing them that it's completely natural to have them and what they can do to prepare. It also shows them that it's good to not always be prepared as well, as Charlie finds out within the book.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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).

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for showing children that it's okay to not always know what is going to happen. Charlie is always ready for "just in case" scenarios, but he soon finds out that sometimes surprises aren't that bad. This would be a good teaching book for children who always think about the 'what-if's'.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

great illustrations!

[Janna Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tate read this one to me. He learned about preparing for the worst case scenario and thought it was very funny!

[Daryl Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

PB42 – Perfect story for the kids that always ask a lot of what-if questions

[Bree · Rating 1 out of 5]

Notes:
neurotic main character
too fear-based

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little boy prepares himself for all sorts of outlandish scenarios - JUST IN CASE!

Fun illustrations.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was a little bothered by the extreme paranoia exhibited by this book's protagonist.

[Colby Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.