In 1935, Moose Flanagan and his family move to Alcatraz Island so that his austistic sister is given the opportunity to attend a progressive school in San Francisco. When she is turned down for admission to the school, Moose asks a favor of the most famous and notorious inmate at Alcatraz, Al Capone, for help.
When Big Al grants this favor, it is Moose's turn to do a favor for Al Capone. With the help of his school friends Moose has to figure out how to fulfill his favor for Al Capone and stay alive. Set in 1935 the story has many facts about Alcatraz and life on the rock that makes this not only a great story, but believable as well.
Bibliography:
Choldenko, Gennifer. "Al Capone Does My Shirts". Putnam: New York, 2004.
My Impressions:
I loved this book! I think that the story line was great, but the use of real history, facts and pictures added to the writing and characters. This book is great for young readers 10 years and older. The writing is easy to read and makes a great read aloud book.
Reviews:
The Washington Post
Natalie's story is an important thread, sensitively handled. But what stays in the mind is the teeming mini-society of the island, where guards' families really did live and where a kid really might have encountered Al Capone, an inmate at Alcatraz from 1934 to 1939. — Elizabeth Ward
Publishers Weekly
In our Best Books citation, PW said of this tale set in 1935, "Choldenko captures the tense, nuanced family dynamics touched off by the narrator's sister's disability as skillfully as she handles the mystique of Alcatraz." Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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, Ages 10 up.
Suggested Uses:
1. Use this story to bring history alive through the characters and have a reader do a report on the history of Alcatraz, Al Capone and escaping Alcatraz for a social studies lesson.
2. Research how much money people earned during that time period and the cost of food as compared today as part of a math lesson.
Book Cover:
No comments:
Post a Comment