Al Capone does my shirts...

Al Capone does my shirts written by Gennifer Chelenco...

Mathew Flanagan (Moose) is forced, against his will, to move his family to Alcatrez, an island prison for felons too dangerous to be housed in normal prisons. His sister Natalie had autism, although this was not recognised in 1935 when the novel is set. Their mother Helen is desperatly trying to get help for Natalie who leans to heavily on Moose. Moose cares deeply for his sister and does his best to protect her from the crulety of others. Their father, Clam, has taken a job on the island as both an electrition and a sercurity guard, he is always tired from his two jobs and from trying to keep the peace between Moose and his mother.

The notorious gangster Al Capone and the other prisoners do the laundry for the staff and their families who live on the island. Moose quickly meets the children of the other guards and Piper the daughter of the island's warden. Piper is a tease and dispite her father's warning to Moose not to discus the prison or it's occupants, when he went to school on the mainland, she forces Moose to join her in running the laundry service where the other school children will pay to have their washing done by Al Capone.

This results in trouble for Moose, the worse being the disapointment he sees in his father's eyes. Despite everything being agaisnt Moose's happiness he manages to make friends with Scout, like Moose a baseball fan and Scout soon realises how difficult things are for Moose. When Natalie is turned away yet again from the school their mother thinks is bets for her, and will help her education the most. Moose, will help Piper and the other children enlists the help of Al Capone himself to have her accepted at the coveted school. And here the story ends although it is no clear just how Al Capone achieved this and whether or not Natalie benifited from the new school.

Carrie's War - Nina Bawden - Book review

In September 1936 England went to war with Germany. Many of the children caught up in the Blitz were evacuated to Whales, some families that the children were sent to were nice to the children although others made them work and they werent very nice to them. Nina Bawden's story begins with Carrie, who's husband has died and she is taking her children to Whales for a holiday. She is driving and she begins to tell her children about her time as an evacuee, when she met Mrs Gotobed, Mr Johnny, Hepzebar Green and Albert Sandwich. Who has been evacuated to stay with them. Her children dont believe such people exsist, Carrie tells them about how her brother Nick had been taken to the station by their mother with just a change of clothing and a packed lunch. They were put on a train not knowing where they were going, and are evacuated to a small home of Mr Evans a grocer and his sister Louise. "Aunt Lou" as they are told to call her, she is kind, although they are frightended of her brother. One day they are sent to Mr Evans sisters house Dily Gotobed and her son Johnny who seems to be autistic. Suddenly life becomes worth while becuase Dily is a loving person.

Hepzebar the housekeeper, is sometimes regarded as a witch, she makes them welcome and introduces them to Albert Sandwich, another evacuee staying at Druid's Bottom. Albert tries to tell Carrie how he loves her although she doesn't understand becuase she is to young, when the war is over and the children are returning to London Carrie smashes the skull and as the train takes them away she see's the castle burning, and believes that she has killed everyone there.

Now when she takes her children to Whales she is welcomed by Hepzebar, and she tells them that Albert has bought Druids Bottom (where they stayed as children) and he is due to visist that morning. As the story ends Albert walked into the house and there was a happy ending.

Thank You for reading my book reveiew.