Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days » (Unabridged, 2 CDs, 2 hrs. 30 min.)

Judith Viorst was born and brought up in New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University, moved to Greenwich Village, and has lived in Washington, D.C., since 1960, when she married Milton Viorst, a political writer. They have three sons—Anthony and Nick (who are lawyers) and Alexander (who does community-development lending for a bank) and seven grandchildren—Miranda, Brandeis, Olivia, Nathaniel, Benjamin, Isaac, and Toby.

When Judith's son Alexander announces that he and his entire family would be staying with her and her husband for ninety days while their house was being renovated, Judy finds it to be a magnificent, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not only to get to know her children and grandchildren a little better than before, but also to reconnect with her husband as they hold hands, close their eyes, and wait patiently for move-out day.

Publishers Weekly

Viorst has her house exactly the way she likes it, with all the fine things that she denied herself when raising three rambunctious sons. But that order is delightfully disturbed when her youngest son, Alexander (the inspiration for her famous picture book), his wife and their three young children return to the nest while their house is being renovated. Her account of the three-month stay, replete with disruptions, awkwardness and wonderfully affectionate moments, is a sweet and mildly humorous testament to a family whose loving bonds are powerfully evident. Viorst intersperses familial anecdotes with musings on modern parenting and its problems, including various approaches to accommodating three generations in one house. Merlington's tone matches Viorst's text perfectly, conveying Viorst's defiant defensiveness about and gentle amusement at her own foibles, particularly her penchants for order and her almost complete inability to repress the sharing of "helpful" advice. This charming minimemoir doesn't break any new ground, but it doesn't have to. Simultaneous release with the Free Press hardcover. (Nov.)