Al Capone Does My Shirts

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004. ISBN: 0-399-23861-1.

Plot Summary

Moose's father is a mechanic and guard at Alcatraz, so Moose's family lives on the island. Moose befriends the other guards' children, including Piiper who needs Moose's help with a crazy scheme. She's going to charge their classmates to have their laundry done on the island. Imagine! Mob boss Al Capone washing your shirt. Meanwhile, Moose's sister Natalie was supposed to be attending a special school in San Francisco, but they sent her home. Natalie carries around a box of buttons that she counts whenever she gets anxious, which is a lot. It's one thing to be a special child, but to be a special adult is harder so Moose's mom keeps telling people that Natalie is ten. The whole reason for moving to Alcatraz was to help Natalie, but if she doesn't improve the whole move will have been for nothing.

Critical Evaluation

Al Capone Does My Shirts is set on Alcatraz Island in 1935 and Choldenko thoroughly researched life on the island for the families of guards. She even includes a well written source note at the end of the book. On the other hand, the character of Natalie is based on Choldenko's personal experience with her own sister. While Natalie is undiagnosed in the novel, she clearly has autism, as does Choldenko's sister. In the source note, Choldenko explains a little about current autism research. She also says, "Autism wasn't identified until 1943, a full eight years after this book takes place. Children with what we now call autism received many different diagnoses during the 1930s and were sometimes institutionalized." I would argue that during the 1930s, children with autism, especially autism as severe as Natalie's, were frequently institutionalized. Thus despite the historical setting, the characters' reaction to and treatment of Natalie is wholly modern. Nonetheless, Natalie's characterization is sympathetic, honest, and encouraging to modern readers who deal with autism.

Reader's Annotation

Every day, Moose and the other children who live on Alcatraz Island take the boat into San Francisco to go to school. There, they tell the other kids, "Al Capone does my shirts," which is true. Famous mob boss Al Capone works in the laundry at the prison. But the kids have never seen him, yet.

About the Author

Gennifer Choldenko is the author of Notes From a Liar and Her Dog. She lives with her husband and two children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Genre

Historical Fiction

Curriculum Ties

The 1930s.

Local History of San Francisco

Autism

Booktalking Ideas

Describe Natalie

Describe Piper's plan to do her classmate's laundry

Reading Level/ Interest Age

Grades 4-6

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas

Newberry Honor Winner

Why book was included

A recent Newberry Honor Winner