Poor Big Al! He just wants to make friends. And in the whole wide blue sea you can't find a nicer fish. But because Big Al is large and scary-looking, the little fish are afraid to get to know him.
What can he do? He tries everything he can think of -- from disguising himself with seaweed to burrowing under the ocean floor so he'll look smaller. But something always goes wrong, and lonely Big Al wonders if he'll ever have a single friend. Then one frightening day, when a fishing net captures the other fish, Big Al gets the chance to prove what a wonderful friend he can be!

A big, scary-looking fish has a hard time making friends because of his appearance. He tried to camouflage himself so he doesn't scare away potential friends, but it doesn't work. One day he saves the other fish from a fishing net, proving he is a friend worth having. ( )

Poor Big Al! He just wants to make friends. And in the whole wide blue sea you can't find a nicer fish. But because Big Al is large and scary-looking, the little fish are afraid to get to know him. What can he do? He tries everything he can think of -- from disguising himself with seaweed to burrowing under the ocean floor so he'll look smaller. But something always goes wrong, and lonely Big Al wonders if he'll ever have a single friend. Then one frightening day, when a fishing net captures the other fish, Big Al gets the chance to prove what a wonderful friend he can be!

Good moral story, for talking about friends and not judging, be yourself. Also good for theme books, talking about the ocean.

Big Al is a great fantasy book that could be used for character education. The book is about a big, ugly, scary fish who has no friends because of his appearance. None of the other fish want to be his friends because he doesn’t fit in with them. Big Al tries to change his appearance by wrapping himself in seaweed, puffing himself up, and burying himself in the sand so he looks friendlier. However, none of these solutions work. One day a bunch of the fish get caught in a fishing net and need help to escape. Big Al is able to use his sharp teeth to free the fish. Unfortunately he gets tangled in the net and caught. However, the fishermen throw him back. When he returns to the sea all the fish cheer for him and want to be his friend because he saved their lives. In the end, Big Al has lots of friends and is no longer lonely. ( )