Al Capone does my shirts

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One of your negative reviewers mentioned "It's full of vulgar words and very violent." I know some people find the use of "Jesus", when not used as a religious reference, offensive. It occurs three times; there are no other "vulgar" words in the book. Attitudes/Disobedience - 34 Incidents: A boy argues with his mom, saying it isn’t fair that his dad spends time with his sister but not him. A boy doesn’t like to get in trouble and says it’s a curse. The Flanagans receive a call from the director of the Esther P. Marinoff School, who tells them that Natalie has not been able to adjust and that they must come for her immediately. The Flanagans are referred to Mrs. Kelly, a woman who might be able to work with Natalie. After consulting with Mrs. Kelly, Moose’s mom states that while she gives piano lessons in the city in the afternoons, Moose, in the interest of helping his sister “join the human race,” will be expected to take Natalie everywhere with him after school as if she were “a normal sister.” Moose pleads with his mother to let him have Mondays off so he can play baseball, but she tells him to ask his friends to move the games to Tuesdays, when she does not have lessons scheduled. To Moose’s surprise, Scout is able to reschedule the games. But Moose’s mother’s Monday lesson is switched to Tuesdays. When Moose tells Scout that he cannot play on Tuesdays now either, Scout gets angry and tells Moose, “Don’t expect to play on my team again.”

Moose likes a girl who tends to get him in trouble because he likes the way she looks. Moose is twelve; preteen kids don't always think about consequences. Al Capone Does My Shirts is a historical fiction novel for young adults by the author Gennifer Choldenko. In the book, Moose Flanagan and his family move from Santa Monica to Alcatraz Island when his father takes a new job as an electrician and a guard in the well-known Alcatraz prison. The book was named a Newbery Honor selection, and in 2007 it received the California Young Reader Medal. It has three sequels: Al Capone Shines My Shoes, Al Capone Does My Homework, and Al Capone Throws Me a Curve. [1] [2] [3] Plot [ edit ]In his riskiest move to date, Moose decides to take matters into his own hands and writes a letter to Al Capone—the infamous gangster at Alcatraz—asking him to use his connections to help his sister get into school. And guess what? Within days, Natalie is accepted into the Esther P. Marinoff School. Huh. If you think about it there are so many parts of the story that are heart-wrenching . . . the author does an amazing job of making emotional connections with each character. You can see the grief cycle in each member: anger, denial, bargaining, etc. I also loved how she showed Natalie, the sister, as a real person -- one of the few books I've read with a disabled character that really shows you the person inside. When Moose and Natalie arrive home, Mrs. Flanagan has a cake ready with the number ten on it, and the island children celebrate Natalie’s birthday. Afterward, Moose tells his mother that everyone can see that Natalie is not ten and that the only chance she has at Esther P. Marinoff is if they tell the truth. Moose’s mom objects, but for once his dad sides with him. Mr. Flanagan goes to Natalie and asks her how old she is, and she responds, “I am sixteen at 2:31 today.”

Some reviewers didn't like the way in which Moose's (main character) autistic older sister is treated. Her parents keep trying to "cure" her. Twelve year old Moose is charged with watching her when not in school. Is that fair - no, but parents make do. The story takes place in the 1930's, and treatment/education of autistic children was limited. The title! Imagine living on Alcatraz at the same time as Al Capone. Then you find out he washes, mends, and folds your clothes. What stories you could tell for the rest of your life!Moose makes friends with other kids on the island, including Piper, the warden's daughter. Piper devises all sorts of crazy schemes to keep them occupied, most of which involve breaking Rule Number 1: Don't talk to or about the prisoners. At her best, Natalie is “present” to what is going on around her and communicates with rudimentary words and phrases that are purposeful and not just rote reproductions of what other people say. At her worst, she is withdrawn and unreachable, entering into a state of catatonic unresponsiveness when the elements in her world overwhelm her. Through Natalie, the author communicates with remarkable clarity that the more extreme behaviors of autistic children are not primarily disciplinary issues but are the result of altered sensitivities that can spiral out of control. On the day before her second interview at the Esther P. Marinoff School, Natalie engages in a poignant struggle not to “leave” as “the forces inside her seem to collide.” Although on this occasion she manages, with Moose’s help, to redirect her attention and avoid a complete meltdown, a few days earlier, she had lost herself to a violent, incoherent tantrum. During her fit, Moose could see through her eyes that she was “trapped,” and it was only when he rolled her tightly in a carpet that the turbulence that terrified her subsided. Wrapped securely and protected from her own volatile reactions, she seemed to feel safe and lay “shaking, grateful, and forlorn.”

Autism, which is “a disease that affects the way [an individual’s] brain and sensory system work,” was not specifically identified until 1943. In 1935, the year in which the story takes place, children who exhibited its characteristic symptoms were given a variety of diagnoses and were frequently institutionalized. The term autism encompasses a wide range of manifestations. Natalie has idiosyncratic mannerisms, problems in relating to people, and the speech patterns of a preschooler but is nothing short of a prodigy when it comes to numerical calculations, so she would most likely be identified as autistic today. The best description of Natalie's condition is paradoxically provided in the book by a seven year old, Theresa Mattaman. Theresa says:

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Most of these schemes turn out to be flops. Case in point: Piper starts a criminal laundry service for the kids at school, but the kids lose interest really fast. Moose starts hunting around outside the prison's rec center every day, though, hoping to find a stray baseball. Kid's got to keep himself amused somehow, after all. The son asks the dad why he always does what the mother says (implying he’s not the head of the house). Parents get into a fight. A boy confronts his mom about her lying (the mother apologizes about her lying). “My mom’s done a million of things to help Natalie. The aluminum treatments, the voodoo dolls, UCLA, the psychiatrists, the Bible readings… What good were they?” Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko, has been critically acclaimed since it was published in 2004. And when we say acclaimed, we're talking by the Newbery Honor folks. Which is basically like the president of children's books giving you the seal of approval. And it's easy to see why—this book dives into both unusual and usual terrain at once, combining the unusual setting of living on Alcatraz Island while Al Capone's a prisoner there with the totally usual struggles of growing up, particularly with a sister who has some troubles of her own. Moose (Matthew) Flanagan’s family moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 at the height of the Great Depression. Moose’s dad has been hired as an electrician and guard at the prison and the extra income will pay for 16-year-old Natalie’s, Moose’s older sister’s, special needs education. Natalie is on the autism spectrum and at this time in history, it isn’t diagnosed, but there is a special school for children here that will help the Flanagans avoid sending her to a mental institution as was done in those days. Moose finally settles in and begins to appreciate this unique place he gets to call home. Who else can say they get their laundry done by the inmates - by Al Capone, nonetheless? How fortunate to be a family of a member of the prison staff.