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