Hey, Al by Arthur Yorinks; Illustrated by Richard Egielski
	List Price:   $17.00 Unit Price:   $13.60 You Save:   $3.40 (20%) ISBN-10:   0374330603 ISBN-13:   9780374330606 Publisher:   Macmillan; Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) Edition:   illustrated Category:   Beginning Readers Pub. Date:   November 1986 Pages:   32 Format:   Hardcover; Cloth over boards Ages:   4 to 8 Grades:   ps to 3
Awards
1987  Caldecott Medal  Winner!  1988  Bluegrass Award  Winner!  1989  Flicker Tale Children's Book Award  Nominee/Honoree
Subjects
CHILDREN'S FICTION
Description/Notes
A janitor, Al, and his dog lead lives of quiet desperation until a jaunt to Paradise convinces them, as Dorothy was also persuaded, that there is no place like home. Egielski's work won the Caldecott Medal. The author and illustrator have collaborated on many books, and while they are not all likely to induce belly laughs, they inevitably make readers smile. All are noted for their comic storytelling style. A city janitor and his treasured canine companion are transported by a large colorful bird to an island in the sky, where their comfortable paradise existence threatens to turn them into birds as well. Copyright ? Libri GmbH. All rights reserved. Al, a janitor, and his faithful dog, Eddie, live in a single room on the West Side. They eat together, they work together, they do everything together. So what's the problem? Thier room is crowded and cramped; their life is an endless struggle. Al and Eddie are practically at eachothers throats when a large and mysterious bird offers them a new life in paradise. After some debate, they decide to accept. Transported to a gorgeous island in the sky, Al and Eddie are soon living a life of ease and luxury. But they come to find that the grass can be a little too green on the other side. After a dramatic, nearly tragic escape from their paradise prison, both man and dog agree: there really is no place like home. Eddie the dog wants to change his life, but when a bird takes him and Al the janitor to a bird-inhabited island, Eddie isn't quite so sure. Caldecott Medal winner, 1987. 'Like Maurice Sendak'sWhere the Wild Things Are, this picture book explores the pleasures and the costs of leaving home. . .Hey, Alis a perfect melding of words and pictures, fantasy and reality, tenderness and humor.' --Judith Viorst,The New York Times Book Review 'Outstanding artwork...The author and artist succeed again, with a book that has something for everyone.' --Starred,Booklist