Series:

Tales from Alcatraz

4 primary works

Book 1

Cover of Al Capone Does My Shirts
Moose Flannagan moves with his family to Alcatraz so his dad can work as a prison guard and his sister, Natalie, can attend a special school.  But Natalie has autism, and when she's denied admittance to the school, the stark setting of Alcatraz begins to unravel the tenuous coping mechanisms Moose's family has used for dealing with her disorder.

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.

Set in 1935, when guards actually lived on Alcatraz Island with their families.  Choldenko's second novel brings humor to the complexities of family dynamics and illuminates the real struggle of a kid trying to free himself from the "good boy" stance he's taken his whole life.

Book 2

Cover of Al Capone Shines My Shoes

Al Capone Shines My Shoes

by Gennifer Choldenko

Published 8 September 2009
Moose's sister has got a place in the perfect school on the mainland, one that will help her deal with her autism. But there is one hitch. She got the place with the help of Al Capone and now it's payback time. Soon Moose is caught up in a terrible cycle of secrets and favours that threatens to destabilise his entire family in this nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat novel.

Book 3

Cover of Al Capone Does My Homework
Alcatraz Island in the 1930s isn't the most normal place to grow up, but it's home for Moose Flanagan, his autistic sister, Natalie, and all the families of the guards. When Moose's dad gets promoted to Associate Warden, despite being an unlikely candidate, it's a big deal. But the cons have a point system for targeting prison employees, and his dad is now in serious danger. After a fire starts in the Flanagan's apartment, Natalie is blamed, and Moose bands with the other kids to track down the possible arsonist. Then Moose gets a cryptic note from the notorious Al Capone himself. Is Capone trying to protect Moose's dad too? If Moose can't figure out what Capone's note means, it may be too late.

The last heart-pounding installment in the New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor-winning Alcatraz trilogy is not to be missed!

"Superlative historical fiction." --School Library Journal (starred review for Al Capone Shines My Shoes)

Book 4

Cover of Al Capone Throws Me a Curve
Moose has his hands full during the summer of 1936 watching his autistic sister, Natalie, and the warden's daughter, Piper, and trying to get on a baseball team by proving he knows Al Capone.