About the Author

Andrew Clements is the author of the enormously popular Frindle. More than 10 million copies of his books have been sold, and he has been nominated for a multitude of state awards, including two Christopher Awards and an Edgar Award. His popular works include About Average, Troublemaker, Extra Credit, Lost and Found, No Talking, Room One, Lunch Money, and more. He is also the author of the Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School series. He lives with his wife in Maine and has four grown children. Visit him at AndrewClements.com.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2-Shrimpy becomes friendly with Big Al after playing tag, and the larger fish helps him do things he could never do on his own. One day, Big Al's fin gets stuck in a crack in a rock, and it's clever Shrimpy who comes up with a plan to save him. The story is enhanced by the lovely underwater scenes, which are done in embroidery, paint, and batik on silk. Yoshi pays good attention to detail; when the text indicates that 3 groups of 10 fish help Big Al, readers see 30 fish doing just that. When the author states that Shrimpy could fly through the water faster than ever before, the illustration shows him clinging to one of Big Al's fins as they swim along. Occasionally, the dark text requires good lighting to see clearly as it is on top of darker coloring, and the text is occasionally a bit choppy. Where needed, add this title to the list of books available on differences and those that show how size doesn't matter.-Kathleen Simonetta, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

The sequel to Big Al, Big Al and Shrimpy by Andrew Clements, illus. by Yoshi, explores the friendship between the mismatched fish; an unlikely turn of events signals certain change in the smaller fish's popularity. The full-bleed spreads of the ocean depths are every bit as appealing as in the previous book.

"School Library Journal" There is magnificence to Yoshi's work that matches Clements' international story of friendship.