Author : Gennifer Choldenko
5th Grade and Up
Al Capone me lava la ropa
Al Capone me lava la ropa, Softcover, Spanish, Book, Gennifer Choldenko, 5th Grade and Up, 9781603961783, $15.95
$119.86 for Story Collection Purple Books Set, Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 2 Hardcover Spanish Books and 10 Softcover Spanish Books
Newbery Honor
Murderers, mob bosses, and convicts . . . these guys are not your average neighbors. Unless you live on Alcatraz. It’s 1935 and twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan and his family have just moved to the infamous island that’s home to criminals like notorious escapee Roy Gardner, Machine Gun Kelly, and of course, Al Capone. Now Moose has to try to fit in at his new school, avoid getting caught up in one of the warden’s daughter’s countless plots, and keep an eye on his sister Natalie, who’s not like other kids. 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.
School Library
Journal : Grade 6-8--In this appealing novel set in 1935, 12-year-old Moose
Flanagan and his family move from Santa Monica to Alcatraz Island where his
father gets a job as an electrician at the prison and his mother hopes to send
his autistic older sister to a special school in San Francisco. When Natalie is
rejected by the school, Moose is unable to play baseball because he must take
care of her, and her unorthodox behavior sometimes lands him in hot water. He
also comes to grief when he reluctantly goes along with a moneymaking scheme
dreamed up by the warden's pretty but troublesome daughter. Family dilemmas are
at the center of the story, but history and setting--including plenty of
references to the prison's most infamous inmate, mob boss Al Capone--play an
important part, too. The Flanagan family is believable in the way each member
deals with Natalie and her difficulties, and Moose makes a sympathetic main
character. The story, told with humor and skill, will fascinate readers with an
interest in what it was like for the children of prison guards and other workers
to actually grow up on Alcatraz Island.
Booklist : Gr. 5-8. Twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz in 1935 so his
father can work as a prison guard and his younger, autistic sister, Natalie, can
attend a special school in San Francisco. It is a time when the federal prison
is home to notorious criminals like gangster Al Capone. Depressed about having
to leave his friends and winning baseball team behind, Moose finds little to be
happy about on Alcatraz. He never sees his dad, who is always working; and
Natalie's condition-- her tantrums and constant needs--demand all his mother's
attention. Things look up for Moose when he befriends the irresistible Piper,
the warden's daughter, who has a knack for getting Moose into embarrassing but
harmless trouble. Helped by Piper, Moose eventually comes to terms with his new
situation. With its unique setting and well-developed characters, this warm,
engaging coming-of-age story has plenty of appeal, and Choldenko offers some
fascinating historical background on Alcatraz Island in an afterword.
Story Collection
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