"Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

Summary of "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko
Moose and his family has moved to Alcatraz as a guard and electrician for the prison.  Other children also live on the island. The warden's daughter concocts a scheme to charge money to children at school for getting their laundry washed at the prison by famous prisoners such as Al Capone. Natalie, Moose's sister, needs to get into a special school nearby, the real reason for going to Alcatraz. When she is rejected, Moose must help care for her.  His mother is devastated, and still determined to get Natalie help. An unexpected solution is provided from within the prison itself.

Choldenko, G. (2004).  Al Capone Does My Shirts.  New York, NY: Scholastic, Incorporated.

Personal Impressions of "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Choldenko
If you want to know what it's like to have a child with autism, this book is an excellent resource.  The author's own experiences with an autistic sister really adds credibility to the accuracy of what it is like to care and live with an autistic child. She provides a genuine look at the hopes, trials, discouragement, and fears within a family who has a child with a disability.  Even though many think that children are mean to other children with disabilities, I have found that compassion and concern is more prevalent. I'm so glad that the author provides this perspective with Moose and his friends.  The history of autism and Alcatraz are nicely done, and I really liked her inclusion of children's fascination with famous criminals.  The setting is appropriate, as I see it as a metaphor of Natalie's life, the prison of autism.

Reviews for "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Choldenko
  
Author Choldenko has written a funny and clever middle grade novel about a boy named Matthew (Moose) Flanagan who is living on Alcatraz Island with his family. The family has moved to the Island because Moose's father has found work as an electrician, and because his sister Natalie, who is autistic, can go to a good school nearby. Moose is not happy about living on the island, especially after meeting the Warden's daughter Piper who is bossy and a bit of a troublemaker. Moose's father has warned him to stay out of trouble because he needs this job and Natalie needs to go to the special school. Moose's life becomes miserable when Piper involves him and a few other island kids in a moneymaking scheme to have their schoolmates' clothes laundered by the convicts on Alcatraz Island. Piper tempts her school chums by claiming that Al Capone, the famous gangster, may even wash their shirts. The scheme falls apart when the Warden finds out what his daughter and friends are up to. Then, to make matters worse, the school that Natalie attends doesn't want her and she has to come home. Moose winds up watching her and has to forego his Monday after-school baseball game. This is an amusing book about interesting characters placed in a different and unlikely setting and trying to make the best of their situation.
Review by Della A. Yannuzzi of Children's Literature and Retrieved from Barnes & Noble.

Jobs are hard to come by in 1935, so Moose's father doesn't hesitate to move his family to Alcatraz when he gets work as a guard there. Moose, age 12, is far from pleased, though. His friends and baseball team are back in San Francisco, his father works long hours, and when his mother takes a job too he is put in charge of minding his sister Natalie. Natalie is older than he is, but she is autistic, and she can be very difficult to deal with at times because of her obsessive behavior and temper tantrums. Meanwhile, Moose meets the warden's attractive but trouble-seeking daughter, Piper. He learns about the island and the prisoners, and reluctantly becomes involved in Piper's schemes, such as charging classmates for the opportunity to have their laundry done by the inmates—hence the title. Al Capone features briefly as a minor character, and in desperation Moose writes to him to ask him to use his influence to gain Natalie a place at a special school, a long-held dream of his mother's. Rather than a novel of gangsters, then, as some might think from the title, this is a coming-of-age tale about a boy dealing with his autistic sister, albeit in an unusual setting—YAs hoping for gory details of criminal and prison life will have to go elsewhere. Choldenko, author of Notes From a Liar and Her Dog, offers a sensitive portrait of autism and how it affects a family, and in a author's note at the end she discusses her research about life on Alcatraz and on autism, and mentions that her own sister has autism. An affecting novel.
Review by Paula Rohrlick of KLIATT and Retrieved from Barnes & Noble.

Suggestions for Use in Library or School
Host an autism awareness program with guest speakers. An occupational therapist could demonstrate sensory dysfunction, a common problem in autism, and a few simple exercises to help.  A behavioral therapist could show how important a schedule and reinforcement is for autistic individuals to achieve success and reduce problem behaviors.  A speech therapist could provide a PECS demonstration, and explain how pictoral representations help children with disabilities to communicate even when their speech is limited.  Consider the following additional speakers:
a parent or sibling of an autistic child
behavior therapist explaining DTT (discrete trial training)
behavior therapist explaining verbal behavior terminology such as tacts and mands
therapist explaining Floor Time (playtime)
therapist using water therapy or horseback riding for special needs children
RDI (relationship development)
AAC (augmentative device for communication)
Recommend the movie "Thinking in Pictures" which is the life story of Temple Grandin; famous autistic adult who is a college professor and inventor