Al Capone Does My Shirts

                                           by

                  Gennifer Choldenko

 

New York Times Bestseller for Children’s List (2005)

Choldenko, G. (2004). Al Capone does my shirts.

New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons.

One might wonder if the concept for this story was heisted from the Magic Tree House series of children’s books in which a boy and girl travel to fascinating places in bygone times to meet famous people.  In this case, a boy named Matthew (who prefers to be called “Moose”) feels like he’s almost been forced at gunpoint to move to Alcatraz Island decades ago when he father gets hired to work at the prison there.  And of course, the most famous and infamous inmate at the prison is
                                                          Al Capone.

Moose likes to play baseball with another boy named Scout, except that Scout is always stealing bases.  Piper, the warden’s daughter, cons Moose into a plan whereby they get their school classmates to pay them money to have the inmates wash the students’ clothes.  But when the warden learns of their scheme, they get busted.

Moose’s little sister Natalie is autistic, so whenever he has to take care of her, he feels like he’s serving a life sentence with no chance for parole.  Natalie needs to get into a learning center, the Esther P. Marinoff School, where she could get the special help she needs; but getting her in is harder than getting a file into a jail cell.  So Moose smuggles a note to Al Capone asking for his help.  

Somehow, Capone makes the school an offer they can’t refuse, because Natalie is  immediately accepted into the school. 

PICTURE SOURCES:
smithvilleelementarylibrary.blogspot.co
alcatraztickets.com

grumpfactory.wordpress.com

jessicadionne.glogster.com