Character Analysis: Al Capone Does My Shirts

In Al Capone Does My Shirts, I think Gennifer Choldenko is illustrating the lesson that you should accept others no matter how they act. In this book there’s a character named Natalie who has autism. Some characters don’t accept her and some do.
Natalie’s mom, doesn’t accept Natalie to be the person that she is. Likewise, she keeps celebrating Natalie’s tenth birthday. For instance on page 192, the text states, “‘She isn’t ten’ I say, my voice hoarse. My mother winces and turns away. ‘Yes she is’ she says in a tough voice. ‘No, she’s not Mom. She’s not and everybody knows it’ My mom continues to stare at the pot. Her face is quivering. Her hands are scrubbing. ‘She is,’ she sputters. ‘No. Mom. You know she’s not.’ ‘Eleven.’ My mom gulps. She sounds like a very little girl. ‘I’m going to say she’s eleven.’ ‘It’s her birthday today. She looks sixteen. She is sixteen.’ ‘NO. JUST NO!’ my mother roars.” Mom isn’t accepting Natalie’s age because to get into the Esther P. Marinoff School ( a school for kids with learning disabilities) you have to be twelve or younger. Also, Mom thinks that the school will help Natalie.
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For instance on page 118 Natalie has a meltdown because Moose messed up her buttons. When this happens Theresa doesn’t run away or ask why she just helps Moose put away her buttons .“Theresa and I put her buttons back as best we can, arguing over where they should go” Also on page 118 Theresa sits with her. “We sit with her. Annie and Theresa.” Additionally, even though Theresa is almost ten years younger than Natalie that doesn’t stop her from being her friend. Plus, they also find a game to play together called button checkers which is exactly like checkers except with buttons. When Theresa does this it makes Natalie feel good that someone is finally including her. Also, Natalie got excluded from the Esther P. Marinoff school so this feels very satisfactory to