Hey, Al is a book written by Arthur Yorinks

Arthur Yorinks

Arthur Yorinks has written and directed for opera, theater, dance, film, and radio and is the author of over thirty-five acclaimed and award-winning books, including "Hey, Al," a children's book which earned the Caldecott Medal in 1987....

 and illustrated by Richard Egielski

Richard Egielski

Richard Egielski is an American illustrator most famous for Hey, Al, a book that Arthur Yorinks wrote, but for which Egielski won the 1987 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations...

. Released by Farrar Press

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy...

, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...

 for illustration

Illustration

An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...

in 1987.

Synopsis

"Hey, Al" is the story of a janitor named Al and his dog, Eddie. Al and Eddie had hard lives, but one day a bird offered to carry them to a magnificent island in the sky. When they arrived, Al and Eddie found it to be a paradise. However, strange things began to happen. Al and Eddie began to resemble birds and they realised the paradise was not all it appeared to be. Al and Eddie wished to return home so they decided to escape by using their newly acquired wings to fly home. Their flight did not go to plan as Eddie crashed into the sea and was lost. Fortunately, Eddie was able to swim home to Al. Al and Eddie were happy to return home.