Gennifer Choldenko

First sentence: I want to be one of those brave mice you read about in books. A mouse in a friar's robe brandishing a sword, a mouse in short sleeves paddling a canoe, a mouse in a pullover sweater who saves a princess. But I'm an ordinary field mouse, the size and weight of an average tomato. The only thing I ever wear is slippers.

My thoughts (preview): I have WANTED--no NEEDED--this book since the summer of 2023. I finished Dogtown (the first book) and NEEDED more, more, more. I wanted all show more the books, forever keep them coming. I loved Dogtown so much I read it TWICE within a couple of months. It is my emotional support library book. So obviously I was excited and counting down the months, weeks, and days until it was released.

It did not disappoint.

Premise/plot: Mouse, whom readers first met in the book Dogtown, returns for another adventure set at the Dogtown animal shelter. Buster, a golden retriever with a high return rate or bounce back, is the star of this one. Mouse's goal throughout the book is to help Buster (and Stewie) find their forever home(s). This one does also feature a robot dog, Smoke Alarm (aka Smokey).

"Smokey's problem was that he'd been put together in a factory that also made smoke alarms, and wires got crossed. Buttons got switched. Gears got shifted. In some home somewhere, there was a smoke alarm that barked. And in Dogtown, we had a metal dog with a smoke alarm that went off when you least expected."

Plenty of adventure and HEART packed into this dog adventure.

My thoughts: How does Mouse compare to Chance as a narrator?!?!?! I loved them both. But Mouse loves, loves, loves, LOVES to read. So Mouse's narration is PACKED with book references.

I loved the narration. It is just a WONDERFUL read. I do think it would be an excellent read aloud. show less

I had this book tucked in my bag because I was using it for a lesson on footnotes and endnotes, and ended up reading it all in one sitting while I was getting the oil changed in my car. I loved it! This book takes place on Alcatraz in 1935, shortly after 12 year-old Moose Flanagan moves there with his family. Moose hated leaving his school, grandparents, and friends in Santa Monica, but times are hard, and Moose's dad secures a job as a prison guard and electrician on the infamous prison show more island, and his family desperately hopes his sister Natalie will be accepted to a special school in San Francisco. The families who live on Alcatraz are an interesting bunch, drawn by employment at the prison, and taking the ferry each day to attend school in San Francisco. Natalie, who suffers from autism, though this was not understood or labeled in 1935, does not get into the school. Her disability is paralyzing for the family, as she requires full-time care. The stigma of such a disability is daunting, and as it's easier to explain her away as Moose's younger sister, though she is in fact, three years older, and turns 10 every year. Moose experiences a full range of emotions about Natalie -- anger, resentment, fear, fierce loyalty, and intense love. In a way I suspect is common to siblings of individuals with disabilities such as this one, Moose "gets" her more than anyone else, and his devotion to her and resentment of her (and his parents who naturally devote more of their time and energy to her) was beautifully written and very touching. The Alcatraz aspect of the book was also compelling, with its perverse fascination with its most famous inmate Al Capone, its mini-society dominated by Piper, the beautiful but awful warden's daughter, and its daily real or imagined interactions. This book is terrific!

Curriculum: great for historical fiction genre study: 1930s America.

Choldenko, G. (2006). Al Capone Does My Shirts. City: Perfection Learning Prebound. show less

Hank's mom is a great mom, warm and funny and loving -- but she's been gone for six days, leaving 11-year-old Hank and his 3-year old sister Boo alone in their apartment. Hank's been taking care of Boo all her life, so they've been getting by okay, but now they're out of money and food, and the landlord is threatening eviction. It's time to get help, but they don't have any family around. Hank remembers that his mom put a name and address as an emergency contact on a field trip form, so he show more and Boo set out on a bus trip across the city, hoping to find shelter and a way to reconnect with their missing mother.

This book is Homecoming for a new generation. I couldn't help but think of the Tillerman Cycle as I read about abandoned kids, a parentified oldest child, and a journey to seek help from a stranger. It's a heavy topic, though there are glints of humor throughout. The characters are complex and the writing is strong. Recommended. show less

Most reviews of this book focus on the story itself, more than the characters. As noted, it tells about a family living on Alcatraz Island, during the Depression (circa 1938) when jobs are hard to find so an electrician's job on as scary a place as Alcatraz is a plum assignment. But Alcatraz isn't as scary as one might expect -- life there becomes normal for the residents, as the author's notes at the end of the book and the story itself suggest. Moose, his sister Natalie and their friends show more live their normal lives, going to school (albiet by boat), wear cleaned clothes (done by the prisoners), play baseball (and hope to find a prisoner's ball that went over the fence), and sometimes get into trouble (as when they tried to sell convict laundry services at a nickle an item).

But life for Moose and his family is challenging, as his sister Natalie has what seems to be autism. While this is a fun story, it is heartbreaking in a way as it aptly describes the emotions that families go through with such a child (I speak from personal experience as my son has autism). His parents want so much for their daughter that they're willing to sacrifice almost anything, including the truth (about her age), and even their son's own happiness. To some it might seem selfish, but the truth is (and probably was even more so at the time) that the parents were frightened for their daughter's future -- what would become of her in a world which generally institutionalizes people such as her. I'd like to get mad at the mother, but I understand how she feels at the same time.

I would recommend this book highly, not only to those who would appreciate the quirky story, but as an excellent example of a characterization of a child and family dealing with autism. show less