tiny pink books

Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Putnam, 2004

Al Capone Does My Shirts is the story of 12-year-old Moose Flanagan and his first few months living on Alcatraz island in the 1930’s. The son of a prison guard, Moose has been moved from his comfortable home in Santa Monica to the cold and foggy world of Alcatraz, where the worst criminals in the country are kept. Although there is a certain light heartedness to Al Capone Does My Shirts, Moose deals with some very real problems. First, as the new kid, he must deal with making new friends in the neighborhood and at school, one of which is a mean girl with a bossy tongue and a distaste for Moose and his family. Second, he has a sister, who is severely autistic, worries his family has they try their hardest to get her accepted into a special school where she will get the treatment and care that she needs. Moose deals with these problems with remarkable maturity and narrates the story (the book is told through journal entries from Moose) in a natural and easy voice.
One thing that I particularly enjoyed about Al Capone Does My Shirts is that fact that it is both serious and fun to read. It is not a depressing book, yet it deals with some pretty heavy issues. It is not necessarily a laugh out load read, but there are moments of lightness and humor that give this book life. What I found most impressive, however, is the fact that Al Capone manages to be both historic and light. With such a specific setting, in both place and time, it would be easy for this book to turn into a droning history lesson disguised as a story. Instead, Al Capone keeps things relevant to today’s readers and using the setting as a backdrop for the real story.
I think there are a lot of young readers (grades 5-8) who could enjoy this book, as it has a very wide appeal. It would be a good choice for a reluctant reader, especially a boy, who has been assigned a historical fiction book report.

Hoot
by Carl Hiaasen
Random House Children’s Books, 2004

Hoot is Carl Hiaasen’s first book written for children. Set in Florida, Hoot tells the story of Roy, the new kid in town who encounters many new offbeat characters in his new town. The plot revolves around a mysterious running barefooted boy, whom Roy sees from the bus one day and a construction site for a new All-American pancake house a la Denny’s. It turns out (surprise!) that the mysteries are connected and Roy becomes ecologically aware and socially involved as he joins the mysterious barefooted boy in an attempt to save several unusual owls who live on the construction site.

The characters in Hoot are fun, but perhaps a bit too predictable for even the most earnest of young readers. Roy, for example, the main character of the book, is a hero among 12 year olds. He is smart, witty, confident and has a perfect relationship with his parents. Dana, the class bully, on the other hand, is a dumb, bumbling tough guy with not even the slightest trace of intelligence or thought. While Hiaasen does manage to make some of the adult characters quirky and slightly more layered, for the most part, the characters in Hoot are so simple that they become not only unbelievable, but also unrelatable.

The message is one that we can all get behind (nature-good, corporate destruction and greed=bad), but the plot eventually grows tiresome. I think maybe the characters and the plot in Hoot might just be a little too simplified and too didactic, even for some young readers. Recommended for readers grades 5-8, though it’s complicated by the fact that while the writing style is quite advanced for very young readers, the plot elements and characters are so simple, older, more advanced readers. Hoot won the Newbery honor so clearly, someone liked it. Younger readers who are advanced enough to tackle the page length (288 pages) and optimistic enough to engage in the plot and characters without cynicism will enjoy this book.