Customer Reviews

Big Al

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

My 3 year old loves fish, and she was immediately drawn to this book. The illustrations are soft, and the story, about a scary looking fish who is really nice, is a good message.

What a beautiful book... a wonderful story with gorgeous illustrations. We bought it at a yard sale and unfortunately the binding is starting to come apart (I have a 2 year old), so I will be buying a new copy from Amazon soon. My son and I both love this book!

We would recommend this book. This book is a great example of how to make friends and be a friend. Big Al is a fish who demonstrates what a friend should be. He is willing to do whatever he needs to show what he is like on the inside. Never judge a book by its cover! You've got to read this book!

I have been a preschool teacher for 15 years and this is one of those books we read often - sometimes every day! It is sure to become one of your child's favorite stories, too!

This has a charming story, and wonderful illustrations. Kids can learn about being themselves and being a good friend by Big Al's example. It has a heroic main character who saves the fish who had refused his friendship. What I think could have been done better/differently is to play up the ideas that no matter what you look like, you can be a good friend, and that it's important to be yourself. Clements ends the story a little too suddenly to explore that idea, in my opinion. It does, however, leave room for classroom or parental discussion once the story has been read. This is a sweet book, with a nice message, even if it's not terribly obvious.

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.