Big Al
Picture Book Read Aloud
book summary
Big Al is a great story about friendships. This story follows Big Al, who is one of the nicest fish in the sea and he is on the search for friends in vast ocean. The problem is though, that Big Al is big and looks scary so little fish are too scared to get to know him enough to become his friend. Throughout the story, Big Al tries all types of tricks to disguise his appearance and make him look smaller in an effort to not scare away potential friends, but something always seems to go wrong with these situations. Not to worry though, Big Al gets to prove to the other fish what a wonderful friend he can be when he is placed in the position of needing to save them all from a fishing net. This book serves as a great reminder that looks can be deceiving, so it is very important not to judge others on this.
suggested teaching point
On page 14, guide students to make an inference. Big Al changed his color and was able to swim with a group of fish for a little while. Big Al was not able to dart through the water as quickly as the other fish, so they swam off without him. After the other fish left, the text says that Big Al was “sadder than ever”. Have students make an inference. Why was Big Al sadder this time than he had been before?
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