Big Al

By. Andrew Clements and Yoshi

Recommended for: Children in PreSchool - Grade 2

Fiction

Summary:

     Big Al struggles with wanting to make friends, because all of the other fish in the sea are afraid of him. The fish are afraid of all because he is so big, ugly and scary. While Al is so very friendly and does his best to fit in with the others, he is unable to warm their hears. That is until one day when the other fish get stuck in a net; Al bites through the net and frees them all. Unfortunately, Al himself gets stuck in the net and pulled up to the surface. Luckily for Al, the fisherman too feel that he is ugly and scary and they throw him back into the sea. All of the other fish are happy to see Al returned home and he now is the most popular fish in the sea.

     Children in Preschool through 2nd Grade would enjoy this book beacuse of the wonderful illustrations that it offers. The story is fun and will keep them actively engaged. Clements leaves elements of suspense that will have them hooked. They will be excited to see that the fish, Al, does have a happy ending and ends up with lots of friends. The story teaches the children a lesson about what it means to be a friend and how to treat your friends.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     This is a wonderful story to use with children both for character education but also for making predictions. Children can use the pictures, as they read, to make predictions about what may happen next to Big Al and the other fish.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Show students the cover of the book and ask them what it is that they see (Fish). Ask, "Are the fish all the same or are they different?" (different). Then ask "What is different about them?"

*During Reading: Ask students their opinions about how Big Al feels when the other fish swim away and will not let him come. Give them opportunities to express their feelings about how the other fish are treating Al. Ask them questions about why Al is so nice to the other fish, even though they are not very nice to him. Children may make predictions about Al saving the other fish at the end. Make sure to highlight how Al is feeling as the story progresses.

*Post Reading Activities: Ask the children, "Was Big Al a good friend?" and "How do you know that he was a good friend". Give the children opportunities to give you qualities that made him a good friend and write them on the board/chart (t-chart). Then ask them, "Were the other fish good friend's to Al?" Give them a chance now to tell you what qualities made the other fish bad friends and write them on the other side of the board/chart. Model writing a sentence about the story using the story starter; "Big Al was a good friend because he..." along with a picture. Then give the students an opportunity to write in their journals their own sentence about what made Al a good friend complete with a picture (Leave up the t-chart so students can refer back to it for assistance).

About the Author:
     Andrew Clements grew up in Illinios but spent his summers growing up in a home in Maine. During their stays in Maine, Andrew's family spent the majority of their days outdoors and in the water, as they had no television, video games or computers there in their vacation home. At nighttime, Andrew spent his time reading and writing stories. This time in Maine very well could have been the inspiration for the setting of the story Big Al.

Book available at: Amazon.com



Big Wolf & Little Wolf

By Nadine Brun-Cosme, translated by Claudia Bedrick, and Illustrated by Oliver Tallec

2010 Batchelder Award Honor Book

Recommended for Children Ages: Preschool-Grade 2
Fiction

Summary:
     Big Wolf hapily spends his days alone ontop of the hill beneath his tree, that is until one day when a stranger, Little Wolf, decides to join him. Big Wolf is very unsure of his feelings about this stranger, but agrees to allow the stranger to join him in his daily task without saying a word. The Little Wolf begins to work his way into Big Wolfs heart as the day goes on. Big Wolf then leaves to take his daily walk and Little Wolf decides to stay behind. When Big Wolf returns he is sad to see that his new conrade is not there under his tree. Big Wold is surprised by his emotions and how much that he misses his new friend, he is unable to complete his daily chores and can do nothing but wait in hopes that he will see his new friend again. When Little Wolf finally returned then Big Wolf welcomed his new friend back and explained how lonely his life was without Little Wold. They then lived together happily from that time on.
     Children will enjoy this story as they will wonder about how the two wolves will interact. There will be many opportunities for children to predict the characters actions throughout reading the story. As Big Wolf comes back from his walk to find Little Wolf gone, the children will feel his hearbreak over his discovered loneliness. The children will be hopeful that Little Wolf will return and will share in Big Wolf's joy when he does. The children will connect with the characters and their feelings as they listen to the story of Big Wolf and Little Wolf. They will also enjoy the simple and bright colored illustrations.

Suggestions for the Classroom:
     This is a story about friendship and it teaches children to open up their world to new people. This would be a wonderful book to read to children on their first day of school as children are feeling anxious about being accepted and making new friends. This book would also helpful in working with children on Character Education and discussing what it means to be accepted and to be a good friend.
* Pre-Reading: You could talk to students about how they are feeling on their first day in a new classroom. Do they know any of the other students? This is a good way to begin conversations about how to make friends?
* During Reading: Ask students questions about how the characters are feeling: How does Big Wolf feel about the other wolf as he is getting closer? Why does he decide that the Little Wolf is okay? How do you think the Little Wolf feels about the Big Wolf? Why? Why is the Big Wold sad when he comes back to see the Little Wolf is gone? Why did the Little Wolf come back? How has the Big Wolf changed?
* Post-Reading: Discuss with the students what it means to be a friend. Have the students discuss with a partner on the rug whether or not Big Wolf was a good friend to Little Wolf? Begin a T-Chart contrasting qualities that make a good friend and qualities that do not make a good friend. Older students would be able to work on completing this chart with a partner, preferable someone who they do not already know to allow them opportunities to get to know eachother and to make new friends.

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Nadine Brun-Cosme has also authored two additional Big Wolf and Little Wolf Books:
Big Wolf and Little Wolf, The Leaf That Wouldn't Fall and
Big Wolf and Little Wold, Such a Beautiful Orange