Big Al

by Andrew Clements

Book Overview

Poor Big Al! He just wants to make friends. And in the whole wide blue sea you can't find a nicer fish. But because Big Al is large and scary-looking, the little fish are afraid to get to know him.
What can he do? He tries everything he can think of -- from disguising himself with seaweed to burrowing under the ocean floor so he'll look smaller. But something always goes wrong, and lonely Big Al wonders if he'll ever have a single friend. Then...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0887080758
• ISBN13: 9780887080753
• Release Date: August 1991
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 10.6" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

The illustrations give life to an important lesson...

Big Al is truly the scariest-looking fish, but - like all of us - he just wants to be accepted by his peers. In fact, he does everything to be accepted: Wraps himself up in seaweed, puffs himself up, hides in the sand so others will come close, changes color to match a passing school of fish, but to no avail. Then comes Al's chance to save the day and make some friends.Yoshi's illustrations are rich and give life to Al's world underwater. I've used this book in my classroom for kids to understand how we are all unique in our own way, but we each have a strength to offer others.

Perfect story!

So many kids books that deal with real life issues often cop out by having the character solve the problem in a way that kids couldn't possibly apply to their own life. This book is a shining example of how to achieve what so many authors cannot: solving a real problem in a real way that can be applied to real life. Beyond the beauty of the lesson, "Don't judge by appearance", is the beauty in the way the story is told. The artwork is a superb extension of the text. Buy this for every child you care about.

great family book

I'm a mother of 2 sons,one 20 year old & a 9 year old. My eldest son read this book and said this book was about him.You see his name is Allen and he is 6 foot 6 inches and 300 pounds. This book sits on our coffee table in our living room. Everyone that reads this book identifies with it. We are donating it to our school library.

Beautiful Pictures and a moral to the story

Not only are the pictures absolutely eye-popping in Big Al, but the story carries a very important moral: to not judge by appearance. I first recieved this book when I was 6 years old, and now I'm 16. Even though 10 years have passed, I still find myself thinking of Big Al when I judge a person.

This is a must have book in any childs library.

This is one of our favorites. The colors are just stunning and pop out at you. I'm a 38-year-old mother of five children and I love the book. It has a great story along with the beautiful drawings. I'm getting ready to buy it for my three nieces for Christmas.