Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
It’s 1935, and twelve year old Moose Flanagan’s dad is a new guard on the notorious Alcatraz Island prison. Back then, guards and their families were given free housing on the island. Understandably, Moose is a little weirded out living next door to criminals, no matter how famous they are. “I’m sleeping with my clothes on. Who wants to face a convicted felon in your pajamas?” Moose also has to deal with his “big” sister Natalie, who looks like a teenager but acts like a little kid. And Moose has to watch Natalie a lot more now that his father is working so much and his mom is away teaching piano lessons. While all this sister-sitting doesn’t leave much time for hunting baseballs outside the cons’ recreation yard, or getting involved in a laundering (shirts, that is) scheme with the manipulative daughter of the warden, Moose still manages to get into some serious trouble doing both. When the special school that his sister goes to threatens to remove Natalie, Moose turns to the infamous Al Capone for help. Smuggling a note to the hard nosed criminal through the laundry, Moose asks that if Capone has any pull left on the outside, could he use some of it to help Natalie stay at her school? You won’t believe the kind of answer Moose gets…This is one funny historical fiction novel, set in one of the most original locations ever!