Al Capone Does My Shirts is an entertaining read that I would recommend for children ages 8-11 years. It is an infectious, humorous tale.
It all begins with "Moose" Flanagan moving, along with his family, to Alcatraz. Life on Alcatraz isn't easy from the start. Moose is forced to leave his friends, his school, and his old life back at what he still considers home. They moved because his mother hoped his older sister Natalie, a heavily disabled girl, would make it into the Esther P. Marinoff school, a highly specialized academy for children with disabilities. The school had a system that improved its students immensely. The problem was, the age cutoff. Natalie had been turning ten for years, much too old for the school, and however much Moose's mother pretended, everyone knew it. His dad was having to work two jobs to support the family, and Moose wasn't getting much quality time anymore, to his dismay. Moose is immediately invited to the prison warden's home to be initiated. The island's non-criminal occupants have almost as many rules to abide by as the criminals, including not mentioning the famous criminals inside the prison for fear of unwanted publicity, a rule that the Warden's dangerously pretty and arrogant daughter disobeys frequently, though the Warden is unaware and continues to think that his daughter, Piper, is perfectly well-behaved and brilliant in every way. When Piper creates a plan to make profit and get kids laundry done at the same time, Moose refuses to take part in it, because it involves Al Capone, the most famous criminal inside the Alcatraz walls. However, Moose finds a new friend, and someone to play baseball with. But with problems with Natalie, a spot of trouble with the Warden, an encounter with a criminal, and another encounter with a criminal's mother, will Moose stay strong and maybe even begin to accept Alcatraz as his home?
Once again, you can pick this book up at your local bookstore or library.
Good luck and happy reading!
Pen
I am reading this too.
ReplyDeleteGinger