Al Capone Does My Shirts

By: Gennifer Choldenko

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

1935
I want to be on Alcatraz like I want poison oak on my private parts. But apparently nobody cares, because now I’m Moose Flanagan, Alcatraz Island Boy–all so my sister can go to the Esther P. Marinoff School, where kids wear their clothes inside out and there isn’t a book in sight. Obedient Moose. I always do what I’m supposed to do.

When Moose’s family moves to Alcatraz Island so his father can work as a guard and his sister can attend a special school in San Francisco, he has to leave his friends behind. But it’s worth it, right? If his sister, Natalie, can get help, maybe his family will finally be normal.

But on Alcatraz his dad is so busy, he’s never around. His mom’s preoccupation with Natalie’s condition (today, it would be called autism) is even worse now that there’s no extended family to help. And of course, there’s never enough money.

When Moose meets Piper, the cute daughter of the warden, he knows right off she’s trouble. But she’s also strangely irresistible. All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents’ expectations and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away.©2009 Gennifer Choldenko; (P)2009 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Choldenko's pacing is exquisite. . . . [A] great read."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

So Detailed

Best Book Ever.. No words, I could not stop reading this book til I finished it.

Not what I was expecting, but it was good

When I first saw the title of this book, I assumed it was going to be funny or quirky. However, this book was more on the serious side. I still enjoyed it a lot! This is more of a coming of age novel than a humorous book. I love the way that they portrayed his sister's Autism and how realistic they were with the way it was viewed in that time period.
Reading this book has peeked my interest in the history of Alcatraz. Even though I knew that kids lived on the island, I never thought about their every day lives there.
The narrator is great! He brings the characters to life with the voices he uses. I definitely recommend this book.

Awesome

It was an amazing book with an interesting story and would read it again. It had an amazing plot and had lots of adventures

Our family loved this book!

Our family listened to this book while taking a road trip to San Francisco where we actually visited Alcatraz and got to meet a former inmate (he signed a baseball for my son). My wife, two boys (ages 8 and 15) and I really enjoyed the story and performance. We had not expected the story of Natalie which really touched us. We are definitely planning to get the sequels!

best book I have read in years

I loved it could not stop reading it was a very good book with a good hook that kept u reading