Kwame Alexander's latest book pulls at the heartstrings. It's called Why Fathers Cry at Night, and its rawness is so poignant that Alexander fretted over its very publication.

As a kid, Kwame Alexander never wanted for books. His father was a publisher, and his mother was an English teacher. “I lived in a Wal-Mart of books,” the author and poet said with a laugh.

Is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day the very worst book for young readers? I’ll grant that it’s a tricky question—but only because the question of bad kids ...