Big Al
Written by Andrew Clements
Illustrated by Yoshi
Reviewed by Justin R. (age 7) & Joseph T. (age 8)
A big fish named Big Al had no friends. All the other fish thought he was big and scary. He was very lonely. He tried to make friends. For example, he changed color to belong in a school of fish but he couldn't move as quickly as they could and when they changed direction he bumped into them. One day Big Al found lots of little fish caught in a fisherman's net. Big Al forgot all about being lonely and started ripping the net to save the other fish. He saved the little fish but he got tangled in the net. You will have to read the book to find out if Big Al was saved and if he ever got any friends.
This book reminded me (Joseph) of when I went scuba diving and saw a school of fish. A big fish came along and scared the smaller fish away. Just like Big Al. I (Justin) know how Big Al feels. I remember how hard it was to find a friend.
We recommend Big Al to people who knew how hard it was to make a friend. We also recommend this book to people that like fish because you can see lots of fish in the illustrations. The illustrations are colorful and make you feel like you are sliding on a rainbow of fish.