Al Capone Does My Shirts

When I first read the title of this book I thought to myself “What in the world could this book possibly be talking about?” I knew who Al Capone was and I also knew he didn’t run a laundry service! The title of this book is great because it’s one of those titles that you have to read to know where the connection comes in. Books like that are always very intriguing to me and I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Al Capone Does My Shirts is the story of “Moose” a young boy whose family moves to the island that houses Alcatraz Prison. Moose’s father is an electrician and guard at the prison. The story is told from the eyes of Moose as he tries to make friends on the island while trying to control his autistic sister Natalie. Natalie is initially supposed to go to a special school but once she is rejected Moose is left caring for her while his parents work and he is trying to fit in at a new school. He starts helping out Piper, a young girl who also lives on the island, with their “dirty laundry” scheme and convinces kids in their class that Al Capone is on laundry duty; thus the title. After a while on the island Moose eventually adjusts and Natalie is accepted into a better school for autistic children.

This book was a great read for me and I could see it being used in elementary grades all the way up to eighth grade. The language wasn't very difficult and I found it to be a book I could really get wrapped up in. Some of the topics of why the prisoners are in such a high security place could potentially be taboo but the book doesn’t dive into those so I don’t see a problem with this novel being read in younger age classrooms. I really enjoyed how the book was set in the mid 1930’s and it didn’t feel like the children would struggle knowing what Moose meant. I feel like children could easily keep up with this novel and would enjoy seeing how it feels to be a new kid in school in town so that they may be more receptive to new kids if they every encounter one. This novel also touches on autism and the way it effects families without getting too immersed in the world of Natalie. We see it from a family member rather than through the eyes Natalie like we did in Mockingbird. I think these two books could be used together to compare and contrast autism and how it differs through the eyes of the person with autism and their family members. It would be a great lesson for children to learn about disabilities because it is becoming less of a taboo topic and a little more common.

Al Capone Does My Shirts is followed by Al Capone Shines My Shoes and Al Capone Does My Homework.