Hey, Al

We read this after having read Homer's Odyssey together. Yorinks draws from it heavily, referencing the Lotus Eaters as well as other tales. My daughter also felt there was a connection to the Garden of Eden story. This is also a good follow-up to a visit to the zoo or an aviary. DD wanted to identify all of the different bird species depicted in the illustrations.

"Paradise lost is sometimes heaven found" is the closing line in Hey, Al, a wonderful book that has a timeless moral for both kids and adults. Al is a janitor who is not happy with how is life is going. He lives in a room with his dog, Eddie, who is also not happy with his situation. One day a bird appears at the window promising to bring them to a better place, "no worries, no cares". Of course, something that sounds that good probably isn't.This book is definitely an entertaining story. The pictures are colorful and very detailed. Kids will love looking at them and pointing out all the different birds and laugh at the silly transformation that Al and Eddie go through. I think they will also get the story, that what you have is usually better than what you lust for. Everyone, at some point in their life, dreams about something better. This book is a great reality check for us, giving a serious message in a kid's book.

Hey, Al, by Arthur Yorinks and Richard Egielski, is a story about Al and Eddie, the dog, going to paradise. Al, a nice, quiet, janitor, lived in a small but very neat apartment on the West Side of New York City with his faithful dog, Eddie. They were always struggling. Eddie hoped for a house with a backyard. All that changed one morning when Al was startled by a huge bird said, "tommorow I will bring you to paradise." The bird offers Al and Eddie a change. The next morning, both are ready and waiting in the bathroom.the bird carries them to the paradise. The theme of this story is that "your own home is the best place to be." Al and Eddie were much happier in their own house than in the paradise. Everyone will like this book, because it has beautiful pictures and ideas.

This book won the Caldecott Medal as the best illustrated children's book of 1987. The wistful, bright water colors will entrance you and your child as you follow this excursion into fantasy. Al, who is a janitor, lives in a one room, one bathroom apartment on the West Side of New York City. His only companion is his loyal dog, Eddie. Not only is the place small, it is not very neat and tidy. Eddie yearns vocally for a house with a back yard. All this changes one morning when Al is startled by a huge rainbow-beaked toucan-like bird poking his head into the bathroom while Al prepares for work. The bird offers Al and Eddie a change. The next morning, both are ready and waiting in the bathroom. The bird carries them to a misty island high in the sky filled with beautiful pools, waterfalls, vegetation, birds, and butterflies. "Unbelievable" is their reaction. "They never had it so good." They lazed in pools of water, and ate wonderful ripe fruit. What a change from a small apartment!But one morning, Al and Eddie started to turn into birds. Al said, "I don't want to be a bird. I'd rather mop floors!" They head back, flapping their wings. Eddie tires and falls into the sea. Al barely gets to the apartment, where he is heartbroken over Eddie's loss. But Al has regained his human form in the process.Then, Eddie returns, having swum from where he dropped into the ocean back to the shore. Al realizes that "Paradise lost is sometimes Heaven found." The last scene shows Al starting to paint the apartment a bright yellow as Eddie looks on. The story follows the general theme of many children's stories where the reality of experiencing something more that has been yearned for makes the characters realize the greater value of what they already have had. You will find this theme in stories as diverse as Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew. Naturally, this story is a set-up to help you and your child discuss and count your blessings, including each other. You can also relate the story back to experiences about being glad to return home from a trip or a vacation, even though everyone had a wonderful time. Put what you have in perspective of the lesser alternatives, and strive to make the best of what you do have!

Rare it is that two separate indiviuals can meld words and pictures in such a way as this. Yorinks' spareness of words makes the tale fly as beautifully as the birds he writes about and Egielski draws the eye right to the heart of his illustrations by not overfilling the page. Beauty in words, beauty in pictures, a beautiful book