Al Capone Does My Shirts

by Gennifer Choldenko

        As a teacher, I am constantly looking for respectable, engaging, and educational books to recommend to my students. I try to set an example for them by reading constantly, I do this not just for myself, but also so I can become more knowledgeable about the books that are currently on the shelves within their reading levels. When it came time to plan a novel study, I had to quickly choose a reputable book to read with my class and I chose this Newbery Honor book. I was thrilled with my decision.
      This young adult book is a historical fiction that takes place on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California in the year 1935. The main character, Matthew Flanagan (Moose), is a 12 year old boy whose father works as an electrician and guard on the island. His family recently moved there for his father's position and for a chance to get Moose's sister Natalie, into a prestigious school for children with disabilities.  Moose has a hard time adjusting to the island and misses his friends back in Santa Monica. He quickly begins to meet other children that live on the island, including the warden's daughter, Piper. Moose soon learns that Piper is always scheming to try and make money or try to meet the infamous Al Capone. Moose not only has to try to stay away from Piper's plots, but try to make friends, and constantly be caretaker for Natalie when his parents are working. This would be hard for any child, but living on Alcatraz has its own set of issues. When Piper comes up with a plan to get kids at school to give her their dirty laundry "to be washed by notorious gangsters Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly", Piper tries desperately to get Moose to help her.  
     This book was a fast and entertaining read from the beginning. The wealth of history and knowledge that the author has included about Alcatraz is amazing. She stays true to the time period throughout the book and includes details from her research of actually being on the island herself. She explains the layout of the island, famous convicts that would be prisoners at the time, and inside knowledge about what the guards families saw day in and day out. It was very impressive to read such an in-depth history of Alcatraz, in a very articulate manner. I also loved the easy way my students could make connections with the characters. Despite the time period, my students could easily connect with Moose's dilemmas, emotions, and conversations with peers. One of Moose's biggest relationships is the one with his sister Natalie. In modern day, Natalie would have most likely been diagnosed with autism, given her behaviors and lack of communication. Staying true to the time period, the author never called it autism in the book since it was not diagnosed until 1943. Learning that the author had a sister with autism, this made me understand why the author was so adept at describing the difficulties that the family had dealing with his sister's disorder. Their emotions can easily be felt by the reader. The only critique I would give this book is that some of the content is uncomfortable to explain as it comes from the eyes of a 12 year old boy. Many of these descriptions elicited a quiet giggle from a few students. Otherwise, it was not a big issue at all. Despite this critique I would not hesitate to read this book again to students.
      All of my students are able to comprehend the book and it leads to wonderful discussions as we read. I took two days to teach my students about Alcatraz Island, Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, the prison, the Great Depression, and autism before we read the book. This was beneficial and I would teach it the exact same way again. I will continue to recommend this book to my future students and teachers. Even if you are an adult you will easily enjoy this book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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