Al Capone Does My Shirts

Here are some questions to consider for our discussion about this book:

AL CAPONE

• Is he a good guy or a bad guy?
• What's going on between him and Natalie?
• Bonus points for bringing in info about his real crimes.

NATALIE

• What is so difficult about Natalie’s behavior?
• Why does Mrs. Flanagan keep celebrating Natalie’s tenth birthday? How does Moose get her to change her mind ?
• How did Natalie really get accepted to school? What made Mr. Purdy suddenly
  decide to open another school? Did Moose’s letter to Al Capone make a difference?
  

PIPER

• Describe when Moose meets the warden’s daughter. What is she like, and how does Moose react to her?
• Moose is attracted to and suspicious of Piper. How would you advise Moose to handle Piper?

MOOSE

• Moose loves baseball. How does that hurt and/or help him?
• As Moose helps Natalie off the boat, he thinks to himself, “Good Moose, obedient Moose. I always do what I’m supposed to do.” Is this true?
• Mrs. Flanagan tells Moose: “You’re better with Natalie than I am.” (p. 180) What
  does Moose do for Natalie that their mother does not? How does Moose treat Natalie?
  And how do Moose’s friends on Alcatraz play a role in helping Natalie?

From the beginning to the end of the novel, which characters change? Do you think these changes will last?

January is a Two-fer!

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, January 18 (because one of us will be in Japan in December). We'll talk about Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko and The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.

The Books Are In!

You can pick up your copies of When You Reach Me at the Library's front desk (upstairs).


They are in a pile cleverly named "Make a Difference Book Club." I took them out on my card and put them under each of your names.

See you on the 16th!

Up Next: When You Reach Me

For our next meeting, we chose When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

• The good news: It's a mystery, Megan and Michelle, so it will count toward your reading project.
• The bad news: It's a mystery, Hannah, but at least it's not Nancy Drew.

Here's a review from School Library Journal:

"Sixth-grader Miranda lives in 1978 New York City with her mother, and her life compass is Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. When she receives a series of enigmatic notes that claim to want to save her life, she comes to believe that they are from someone who knows the future. Miranda spends considerable time observing a raving vagrant who her mother calls "the laughing man" and trying to find the connection between the notes and her everyday life.

"Discerning readers will realize the ties between Miranda's mystery and L'Engle's plot, but will enjoy hints of fantasy and descriptions of middle school dynamics. Stead's novel is as much about character as story. Miranda's voice rings true with its faltering attempts at maturity and observation. The story builds slowly, emerging naturally from a sturdy premise. As Miranda reminisces, the time sequencing is somewhat challenging, but in an intriguing way. The setting is consistently strong. The stores and even the streets-in Miranda's neighborhood act as physical entities and impact the plot in tangible ways. This unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of readers."

Extra credit for reading A Wrinkle in Time.

Dahl Report

As promised, it was chaotic! Here are the books we read:

• Magic Finger
• James and the Giant Peach
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
• The Twits
• The Witches
• Boy
• The BFG
• The Enormous Crocodile
• Matilda

We all agreed that he was crazy, with an imagination that was just this side of veering out of control. I'll send in the forms and we'll see just what kind of prizes you'll get!

October will be Dahltastic!

At our next meeting (Tuesday, October 19 at 6:45), we will be participating in the Dahlathon that's sweeping the US and UK. Everyone should choose three books by Roald Dahl to discuss at the meeting. (Janet will be reading Boy, The BFG and The Enormous Crocodile.) Download the Official Reading Journal -- http://www.roalddahl.com/dahlathon -- to keep track of your books and to just have fun!

Sure, we could all agree on three books to read together, but it seems so much more gloriumptious -- and chaotic -- if we all read our own. I know Roald Dahl would be proud of us.

There are so many fun things on his site-- http://www.roalddahl.com/ -- including a Buckswashling Book Chooser to help you pick your three books.

For reading the three books, each member of our club will be eligible for awards from the Dahlathon: a free book, a certificate and a medal. It will just be....scrumdiddlyumptious!

Loved Slob!

Hannah and Janet loved Slob by Ellen Potter. We thought the story was very well told and we liked the twists and turns -- both interesting and believable. We also really liked the characters: Owen, Jeremy, Zelda, Izzy, Mason. What did the rest of you think?

Thanks to Mrs Khost for suggesting it!

Oh, and we also had an Oreo taste test: Mint Oreos were the best followed by regular Oreos in the festive football shape. The Oreo half and half double-stuffed were a bit much. The Oreo fudge stripe had a nasty plastic taste.