Al Capone does my shirts

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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. Al Capone Does My Shirts opens with Moose and his family moving to Alcatraz where his dad got a job as both prison guard and electrician. His mom teaches music lessons. And, they are there so his sister can get into a special school in San Francisco that might help her.

Physical / Personality Traits: How does this character interact with others in the book? What challenges does this character face? What prepared me for a life of writing fiction? Though I have a BA from Brandeis University in English and American Literature and a BFA in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design, the true answer is probably genes. I come from a long line of Irish storytellers on my father’s side and theatre people on my mother’s. I always knew I loved to write, but it took me a long time to summon the courage to chase the dream. I finally went for it when I realized I would prefer to be a failure at something I wanted to do, then a success at something I didn’t. Theresa Mattaman comes by the apartment their first morning there and takes Moose and Natalie on a short tour of the island. They run into Piper, the warden's daughter, who immediately asks uncomfortable questions about Natalie. Moose does not like it when people assume Natalie is stupid simply because she is different. Piper's questions just make Moose dislike her. In 2011, the book was adapted as a stage performance at The Children's Theatre of Western Springs. [7] Natalie lives in her own world...sometimes it's a good world and sometimes it's a bad world. And sometimes she can get out and sometimes she can’t.I really enjoyed this kid's book. The premise is intriguing to me as I love history and old time crimes. Even as upset as I am right now, some part of me registers how cute she is.” A boy explains that a convict whistled at his sister. He is worried that this could be dangerous but the mother thinks it’s great. A boy tells another boy that a girl is googly-eyed over him. The mentally challenged girl disappeared for a few minutes and the brother finds her with a convict. It troubles him that he doesn’t know what happened. A friend says, “She’s not pregnant, right? … You do know about the birds and the bees, don’t you?” (she is not pregnant and as far as explained, nothing happened). His search is a total failure, though, until he finds out Natalie's been making friends with one of the cons. And this con has been hanging around long enough to know what Moose is looking for, so he gives the kid a ball. Suddenly, though, it doesn't seem like such a prized possession to Moose.

Conversation Topics - 18 Incidents: Mentions rapists. “They even have a cr*pper in each tower so the guards don’t have to come down to take a leak.” “I had gone to take a leak…” A girl is mentally slow and has behavioral issues. She throws tantrums often to get her way (often times because she doesn’t know how to communicate). She is very good with numbers. (Her behavioral issues are throughout the entire book). Mentions that Capone “beats the traitors to death with a baseball bat.” 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. And of course aside from all of this, is the name calling, the brother seeing his sister naked one day and the father giving his son a beer. There’s more, but why go on.

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Okay, so the whole Al Capone element is obviously pretty compelling—who doesn't get excited to read about infamous gangsters?—but Al Capone Does My Shirts dives into much more important territory: namely, autism. A boy notices a girl’s “cut little movie star mouth. That long straight hair.” A girl holds hands with a convict. A girl is holding a convicts hand (he is much older than she is). The brother thinks this is terrible and it is good. A father teases his son about a girl. A father winks at his son and says, “girl trouble.” A father says, “walk your friends home, please … Or should I say your harem.” Later a friend says, “goodnight, you two” teasing about the boy and girl being together. “I want to be here like I want poison oak on my private parts.” A girl looks at an ink blotch on a boy’s pants, right next to his fly. Regarding nervousness: “You start thinking, you get your drawers all in a twist.” 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.

It has become clear to Moose that Natalie has made progress with her new therapist. Moose can also see how important it is to his mother that Natalie gets into the school. When Natalie is turned down once again, Moose goes to the warden to ask for help. When the warden refuses, Moose sneaks a letter into the prison to Al Capone. A short time later, Moose learns that the Esther P. Marinoff School has created a new program for older children and Natalie is to be their first student. 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 family in this story is pretty dysfunctional. The daughter is mentally challenged and this often leads to many fights between the parents and between the son and his parents as they try to cope. The mother lies often, for the sake of her daughter (which her son confronts her on, and later the father). The son's friend, who is throughout the book, is a chronic liar, constantly manipulating her "friends" and her parents to get what she wants. She likes doing things that are against the rules. The story concludes with Al Capone saving the day. During February and March, Natalie does not have a single fit and “seems easier and more present.” At school, Moose is paired with Scout on a project, and their friendship resumes as if nothing ever happened to interrupt it. Scout has heard that when the prisoners on Alcatraz play baseball in the recreation yard, a ball will sometimes go over the wall, and the children who find it get to keep it. Scout wants Moose to get him a “convict baseball.”Moose is watching Natalie one afternoon when little Theresa Mattaman comes to the door and offers to show them around the island. Theresa excitedly tells Moose and Natalie about the famous criminals who are housed there, especially Al Capone. At the morgue, they meet Piper Williams, the warden’s daughter. Piper is attractive and abrasive, and Moose can tell that she is trouble. It has three sequels, Al Capone Shines My Shoes (2011) and Al Capone Does My Homework (2014) and Al Capone Throws Me a Curve (2018). A new book is in development. Natalie’s birthday is the day before her critical second interview at Esther P. Marinoff. Mrs. Flanagan has instructed Moose to keep his sister calm no matter what. Natalie is content, drawing moons on a piece of paper, but then she becomes frustrated and the “forces inside her seem to collide.” Moose notes that “her eyes are leaving.” In a frantic effort to divert her attention, he opens the door and calls her; valiantly fighting against losing control, Natalie follows Moose. After a while, she heads off on her own toward the place where she meets 105, and Moose cannot stop her. The convict is there. He sees Natalie, calls gently to her, and takes her hand. Moose looks on, watching his sister “holding hands with a man not much older than she is,” and sees that what is “so strange, so awful" is at the same time "so...normal...terrible...good.” In the 1930s, Matthew "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. Moose becomes friends with the warden's daughter, Piper, who regularly gets into trouble in her attempts to get money to get off of Alcatraz. Piper talks Moose into being part of her money-making schemes, like having inmates on the island do laundry for the kids at school. When the scheme fails and the Warden receives word of it, the children are punished and have to find a new way to spend their time.

With a name like Al Capone Does My Shirts, I was settled in for a good light read, not. Not that it isn't an easy read but there is pathos in this story of Moose Flannagan. Moose is the brother of a severely challenged sister, Natalie, who cannot function in society and is sometimes entombed in her own frightening world to the exclusion of even her family. This book really tugged at my heart strings. I couldn't help but feel for Moose's character as his mother forced him to mature sooner than he was ready for. For being so young, he was a huge help to Natalie and she seemed to improve when she was with him. Unfortunately, many parents focus too much on "fixing" their children instead of accepting and loving them for who they are. Because there wasn't a diagnosis for autism during the time period, I understand Moose's mother's frustration with Natalie's illness, but it was difficult to side with her on her actions. I wanted her to recognize Moose's participation in Natalie's improvement. I wanted her to show Moose her love. But it just didn't happen and I felt for him. Forget everything you think you know about moose, because Moose Flanagan is neither covered in fur, nor does he have ridiculously long legs. Instead, he's just a kid trying to make it in the 1930s… with an autistic sister… and Al Capone for a neighbor. He's living in a whole different kind of wilderness from his four-legged namesakes.If I could say why I preferred 'Al Capone' over 'Rules' I would say I saw more character development in Moose and he was a likable kid. The author gave him a great sense of humor and great character traits. Natalie was also seen to get help and grow. They both had stable lives and the parents were very involved in their growing up. 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?” 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. I really felt like I was on the island with them, as well. Having it set on Alcatraz is really cool and you learn a lot about the island in the 1930s -- and of course, it's funny! The only thing I found sad, but understandable, was how the mother wanted Natalie "fixed" rather than be helped. I don't think in 1935 autism was a thing anyone knew how to diagnose and these kids were sent to mental institutions or hidden away. But Mrs. Flanagan never gave up on Natalie regardless of the era, which I loved about her. She's a ride or die momma.