Al Capone Does My Shirts

Gennifer Choldenko

Though I work in a bookstore, I discovered 1 2 3 when my brother gave it to my one-year-old daughter with the intention of helping her learn to count. At first glance I thought it was a nice counting book with beautiful illustrations. Once we read it a couple times, though, I began to notice details I had missed that made reading this book so much more than reciting numbers.

Each page represents a number and also offers delightful hidden surprises. The number six, for example, stars Hansel and Gretel and six shiny sweets, six lollipops outside the witch’s house, six mushrooms in the yard, six white birds, and six cats sulking about. Every page is a scavenger hunt with tons of little details tucked into the nooks and crannies of the illustrations that reinforce that page’s number. Children (and their parents) will enjoy recognizing characters they know well, with spreads depicting scenes from fairy tales from Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk to The Red Shoes and Little Red Riding Hood. There are often characters from other stories slipped into the background, foreshadowing their dedicated page to come. If you look out the window of the Gingerbread Man’s kitchen, for example, you will see Jack’s beanstalk off in the distance and the Ugly Duckling’s pond on the horizon.

This is one counting book I won’t mind reading over and over because I find new details each time we read it. My daughter, at one, is captivated by the illustrations. She loves pointing out the different animals and details. I can only imagine that as she gets older, she will love the treasure-hunt aspects this book offers even more than I do. I think it will help make counting and learning math a lot of fun for her!

Format

Hardcover

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CRITICS HAVE SAID

His timing is perfect, he voices all the characters with great versatility, and he makes Moose come to life. This is a fascinating book superbly narrated. – B. Allison Gray, School Library Journal

With its unique setting and well-developed characters, this warm, engaging coming-of-age story has plenty of appeal, and Choldenko offers some fascinating historical background on Alcatraz Island in an afterword. – Ed Sullivan, Booklist

This is an amusing book about interesting characters placed in a different and unlikely setting and trying to make the best of their situation. – Della A. Yannuzzi, Children

Choldenko, author of Notes From a Liar and Her Dog, offers a sensitive portrait of autism and how it affects a family, and in a author’s note at the end she discusses her research about life on Alcatraz and on autism, and mentions that her own sister has autism. An affecting novel. – Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT

IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:

Choldenko, Gennifer. If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period. Harcourt, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0152057534

Choldenko, Gennifer. Notes from a Liar and Her Dog. Putnam, 2001. ISBN-13: 978-0142500682

Conly, Jane Leslie. Crazy Lady! HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN-13: 978-0064405713

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. Delacorte, 1999. ISBN-13: 978-0553494105

Dodds, Bill. My Sister Annie. Boyds Mills, 1993. ISBN-13: 978-1563975547

Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust. Scholastic, 1997. ISBN-13: 978-0590371254

Levine, Gail Carson. Dave at Night. HarperCollins, 1999. ISBN-13: 978-0064407472

Lisle, Janet Taylor. The Art of Keeping Cool. Atheneum, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0689837883

Lisle, Janet Taylor. How I Became a Writer and Oggie Learned to Drive. Philomel, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-0142501672

Peck, Richard. A Long Way from Chicago. Dial, 1998. ISBN-13: 978-0142401101

Peck, Richard. A Year Down Yonder. Dial, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0142300701

Shyer, Marlene Fanta. Welcome Home, Jellybean. Macmillan, 1978. ISBN-13: 978-0689712135

Slepian, Jan. Risk N’ Roses. Philomel, 1990. ISBN-13: 978-0590453615