Al Capone Does My Shirts by: Gennifer Choldenko

1. Bibliographic Data
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone does my shirts . New York: G.p. Putnam's Sons, 2004.

2.Plot Summary
Al Capone Does My Shirts is about a young boy, Moose, and his family moving to Alcatraz, so they can afford to send his sister to a special school. The story is set during the thirties when popular cons are living on Alcatraz, like Al Capone. Moose is angry at first that he had move away from his home and friends, but he quickly finds himself with a new group of friends who all live on the island. Piper the warden's daughter is always up to trouble, and bringing Moose in to the middle of it, like charging kids at school to have Capone do their laundry. Meanwhile, his family is dealing with his sister, who we now know has autism, and getting her in to this promising school in San Fransisco. After twice getting turned down, Moose takes matters in to his own hands. He knew if he could get a message to Al Capone that he could help him out, and talk to the headmaster at the school. Moose writes Capone a letter explaining everything, and one afternoon he comes home to find out his sister has been accepted. Moose's parents just think life is so unexpected sometimes, but Moose thinks differently, especially when he finds the wrinkled note in his freshly laundered shirt saying "DONE".

3. Critical Analysis
Gennifer Choldenko's portrayal of Alcatraz during the thirties is accurate and information, but is entertaining as well as the reader embarks on the complicated relationship between Moose and his sister, Natalie. The children in this store are all fictional, but they all portray what children were like during this time period. Moose, for example, loves baseball and would play everyday, and this was when baseball was considered the American past time. The description of the children's clothes that they pay to have laundered by Al Capone are also a reflection of the time period. The setting of the story is set on Alcatraz island when they had the most famous cons living there. The plot of the story could be realistic because Choldenko writes a few pages at the end of the story explaining how worker's families did live on the island, and come in to close contact with the prisoners. The prisoners really did do the families laundry. The book captures Choldenko's creative voice, but the reader also gets to read how people spoke during the thirties through the dialogue of the families in the story. Al Capone Does My Shirts is an entertaining, and emotional at times, story that children can relate to while learning about the history of Alcatraz and its inhabitants.

4. Awards and Review Excerpt(s)
*Carnegie Medal, 2004
*John Newbery Medal, 2005
*Young Adult Book Award, 2006
*Childrens Literature..."This is an incredibly readable book; its chapters are short, its plot driving, its characters well-rounded and intriguing, and the setting fascinating."

5.Connections
*Have the kids discuss what they think life would be like on Alcatraz island.
*Let the children choose another book by Gennifer Choldenko, like Notes from a Liar and her Dog
*Ask the kids if they have ever had to move away from a friend, or had a friend move away from them, and how they felt.

"Al Capone Does my Shirts." Childrens Literature. ezproxy.twu.edu:2245/cgi-bin/member/search (accessed November 11, 2010).