Books like Big Al
By Andrew Clements
For the kid who's ever felt left out because of how they look or seem on the outside, Big Al is a gentle reminder that kindness doesn't always get judged fairly at first. Tender, wistful, and warmly reassuring, with an undersea setting that turns hopeful and bright.
A boy named Dennis expresses everything through mime — silent, expressive, entirely his own way — until loneliness gives way to friendship when he meets a girl named Joy.
A toy bear waits on a department store shelf night after night, hoping someone will love him despite his missing button — until a little girl named Lisa decides he's exactly the bear she wants.
A three-legged kitten named Fanny and her puppy friend Ruby set out to show the other farm animals that being different doesn't mean being less able.
A quiet polar bear just wants to read, write, and think in peace, but a chatty goose keeps talking and talking beside him — can two such different creatures really be friends?
A wolf who has always lived alone atop a hill grows uneasy when a little wolf quietly settles beside him and won't leave — and slowly, warily, learns to let him stay.
A mouse hears secondhand gossip that her friend Snake is dangerous, and now she must figure out whether to believe rumor over friendship — or trust what she already knows.
A fish and his best friend, a tadpole, grow up together in a pond until the tadpole becomes a frog and hops off to explore dry land, leaving the fish desperate to follow.
A duckling too odd-looking for his own barnyard is mocked and driven off, then must survive hunters and harsh seasons alone before discovering what he truly is.
A friendly ghost named Leo loves drawing and making snacks, but when a new family misunderstands his attempts to help, he leaves home to find where he truly belongs.
In a Dutch town still recovering after World War II, a girl receives a surprise care package from an American stranger — and a simple thank-you letter grows into an exchange of boxes that keeps getting bigger.
A big sister and little brother, stung by name-calling, retreat into rival hideouts — until loneliness quietly does what arguing never could.
A picnic goes sideways when rain and stormy winds send an umbrella (and Mouse!) flying into a tree — one friend calls it good news, the other bad, all the way through.
