Al Capone Does my Shirts

Locations
Call Number: R Newbery Honor 2005, Y Fiction / Choldenko, Gennifer, Kids Book / Fiction / Historical / Choldenko, Gennifer
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Kids Reference 0-week checkout	R Newbery Honor 2005	0-week checkout	Library Use Only
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	Due 05-15-2024
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	Due 05-01-2024
Malletts Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Historical / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Historical / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Historical / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Historical / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Historical / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Historical / Choldenko, Gennifer	4-week checkout	Due 04-25-2024

A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

School Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Fiction Profile
Author Notes
Table of Contents

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Amazing submitted by mysterio on June 18, 2011, 1:03pm This book is amazing!

Alcatraz submitted by chloeandrews on June 19, 2011, 11:43am Great book, you can't put it down and then have to read the 2nd one.

great for upper elementary or tween kids submitted by adimarzo on July 5, 2011, 10:37am My son read this book when he was 8 and loved it. Interesting story and characters, including the titular Al Capone. It inspired him to read more about Al Capone and about the history of Alcatraz. Now he wants to go to San Francisco to see the real thing. The second book is good too.

AWSOME submitted by lsfnewyork on July 30, 2011, 6:42pm aws - som - ness

Really Good submitted by Smiles on August 12, 2011, 3:02pm This book was great! I really liked it- can't wait to read the second book!

Al Capone Does My Shirts submitted by leehannah on June 16, 2012, 9:03pm Honestly, at first I didn't want to read this book at all. But then, my teacher recommended it to me and so then I gave it a try. I pretty much fell in love after the first paragraph or two. I couldn't put it down and all I did was kept reading, It's really well written and if you enjoyed the first one, then I would highly recommend the second book.

A really good book submitted by AbbyJNg on July 5, 2012, 9:10am This book is great because it absorbs your mind and you can't put it down!

interesting submitted by watermelon on July 7, 2012, 8:11pm tells of a boy caring for his autistic sister on alcatraz island (back when it was up and running, at the time of capone)

Funny Book submitted by njdsilva on July 16, 2012, 1:03pm This book is a great piece of historical fiction, with lots of information about Alcatraz, and the life of families on the island.

nice start of a trilogy submitted by camelsamba on June 24, 2014, 7:36pm Even though this is the first in a trilogy, we read it last. It was somewhat strange to finish a trilogy by reading the first book - we listened to #2 as a BOCD a few years ago, and read #3 a few months before this. Getting introduced to characters we already know is a bit repetitive but also strangely revealing -- especially the Moose:Piper relationship. Some people criticize this for weak character development, especially in regards to Moose. I didn't feel that way, but perhaps it's because I had already seen how all the kids (and parents) fit to the larger 3 book arc. Moose especially grows into his multi-faceted character as shown in this tale. I did feel that this story was a bit flat compared to the others, so maybe I would have shared that criticism if I'd started with this.

Al Capone Does My Shirts submitted by mk31 on June 30, 2014, 10:00am This book was very good and I would highly suggest reading it along with the other two books in the series. It is very funny and a great piece of historical fiction.

Engaging story submitted by mjanen on July 3, 2014, 10:48pm Lots of great elements for young readers, including history, relationships, and dealing with autism.

Hints at more serious themes submitted by FordAlpha on August 27, 2017, 12:34pm I enjoyed "Al Capone Does My Shirts," though it has a few holes in plotting and character development. It's certainly a unique setting for a middle-grade family-and-school-relationships novel, and the characters are deeply sympathetic. I have not read the two sequels, which perhaps shed more light on the more serious and disturbing themes that "Shirts" hints at. I'm thinking primarily of the strange relationship between the narrator's sister, who apparently has an autism spectrum disorder, and a mysterious prisoner. There seemed to be hints of possible sexual assault, although nothing explicit is depicted that would be problematic for young readers.

Great! submitted by Lmin on June 17, 2018, 9:22am This is a great book with lots of mystery and detail about Alcatraz.

Al Capone Does My Shirts submitted by jhaberich on July 22, 2021, 2:28pm I listened to the audio book version of this, actually, but it's a good book. I hadn't really known much about alcatraz and al capone before this book and even though this book is total fiction, I still learned some things about alcatraz. The characters are all interesting, and each has their own opinion about alcatraz.

So awesome. submitted by graytabby on August 2, 2021, 7:47am I loved this, because every character has a different story to tell about Alcatraz and they're all vivid.