Module 10 Al Capone does my Shirts

Bibliography:

Choldenko, G. (2004). Al Capone does my shirts. New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam.

12 year old Moose moves to Alcatraz with his parents and sister Natalie during a time when notorious gangsters such as Al Capone are in incarcerated at the prison. His family relocates so that his sister who suffers from autism can attend a special school near by the island. Moose, the warden's daughter and a handful of other kids live on the island, but they attend school in San Francisco. Natalie is turned down for the school on the first try, so her mom goes to work teaching piano lessons to earn money to hire a tutor for Natalie. With both of his parents working, Moose is left in charge of Natalie. When the school turns Natalie down a second time in spite of her progress, Moose looks to Al Capone for help. This book shows the ups and downs of dealing with an autistic child. This is an excellant book to help children learn compassion when dealing with a disabled child.




Reviews:
Ed Sullivan (Booklist, Feb. 1, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 11))Twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz in 1935 so his father can work as a prison guard and his younger, autistic sister, Natalie, can attend a special school in San Francisco. It is a time when the federal prison is home to notorious criminals like gangster Al Capone. Depressed about having to leave his friends and winning baseball team behind, Moose finds little to be happy about on Alcatraz. He never sees his dad, who is always working; and Natalie's condition-- her tantrums and constant needs--demand all his mother's attention. Things look up for Moose when he befriends the irresistible Piper, the warden's daughter, who has a knack for getting Moose into embarrassing but harmless trouble. Helped by Piper, Moose eventually comes to terms with his new situation. With its unique setting and well-developed characters, this warm, engaging coming-of-age story has plenty of appeal, and Choldenko offers some fascinating historical background on Alcatraz Island in an afterword. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Fiction. 2004, Putnam, $15.99. Gr. 5-8.

Della A. Yannuzzi (Children's Literature)Author Choldenko has written a funny and clever middle grade novel about a boy named Matthew (Moose) Flanagan who is living on Alcatraz Island with his family. The family has moved to the Island because Moose's father has found work as an electrician, and because his sister Natalie, who is autistic, can go to a good school nearby. Moose is not happy about living on the island, especially after meeting the Warden's daughter Piper who is bossy and a bit of a troublemaker. Moose's father has warned him to stay out of trouble because he needs this job and Natalie needs to go to the special school. Moose's life becomes miserable when Piper involves him and a few other island kids in a moneymaking scheme to have their schoolmates' clothes laundered by the convicts on Alcatraz Island. Piper tempts her school chums by claiming that Al Capone, the famous gangster, may even wash their shirts. The scheme falls apart when the Warden finds out what his daughter and friends are up to. Then, to make matters worse, the school that Natalie attends doesn't want her and she has to come home. Moose winds up watching her and has to forego his Monday after-school baseball game. This is an amusing book about interesting characters placed in a different and unlikely setting and trying to make the best of their situation. 2004, G. P. Putnam's Sons, $15.99. Ages 10 up.


Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)It is 1935 and Moose’s family has just moved from Santa Monica to Alcatraz, “a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water,” where his father is a guard. As if this were not difficult enough, his sister is autistic and Moose is largely responsible for looking after her. There are more troubles--the warden’s daughter is a brat bent on getting him in trouble, Moose has baseball talent, but cannot play because of his sister, and he is butting heads with his mother constantly. Sound like a problem novel? Problems abound, but the humor, careful historical detailing, tightly woven subplots, and realistically portrayed emotions lift this far above any problem novel. Choldenko has done an incredible job of weaving fact and fiction and she clearly draws the lines between the two in her author’s note. This is an incredibly readable book; its chapters are short, its plot driving, its characters well-rounded and intriguing, and the setting fascinating. 2004, Putnam, $15.99. Ages 10 up.


CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2005)When Moose Flanagan moves to Alcatraz Island so his father can work as a prison guard, he’s concerned about leaving his friends and his baseball team behind. He quickly discovers that living on the same piece of ground that harbors Machine Gun Kelly and Al Capone is a whole new ballgame. Along with the children of the other prison employees, Moose takes a boat to San Francisco each weekday to attend school. There the Island kids milk the mystique of their home for all it’s worth, concocting an ingenious scheme that involves smuggling their classmates’ dirty clothes into the prison laundry system – for a price. The humor of Moose’s escapades is balanced with a more serious issue that his family deals with daily: his older sister Natalie has a condition that keeps her from functioning as a typical teenager. Unidentified in this story set in the 1930s, Natalie’s condition would be diagnosed as autistic today. Desperate to find help for Natalie, Moose’s mother insists that her 16-year-old daughter is only ten, an age when she’s still eligible to attend special schools rather than being relegated to an institution. A concluding author’s note describes life on Alcatraz during its tenure as a working penitentiary from 1934 to 1963, solidly grounding this piece of fiction within fact. In a similar vein, Gennifer Choldenko’s sister served as inspiration for the character of Natalie, who is portrayed with respect and intimacy. The author’s dedication reads, “To my sister, Gina Johnson, and to all of us who loved her – however imperfectly.” CCBC categories: Fiction for Children. 2004, Putnam, 225 pages, $15.99. Ages 10-14