RULES by Cynthia Lord

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lord, Cynthia. 2006. RULES. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439443822

SUMMARY:
Twelve year old Catherine is growing up with the challenges of being an adolescent, but she also must learn to deal with her younger brother David who is autistic. Catherine loves her brother but also experiences feelings of impatience, frustration, embarrassment and protectiveness towards him. As she tries to deal with David's behaviors she creates rules to help manage his behavior. Catherine also meets another person who is handicapped at the clinic where David goes for therapy. Jason, is in a wheelchair and talks using cards that he points to for communication. As she becomes friends with Jason, Catherine struggles with her own thoughts about what friends and others will think of her having a handicapped friend.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The characters in RULES are ones that every young child can relate to or learn from. Catherine is presented with challenges that most kids experience at sometime in their lives. David is a character that some will relate to and some will not. David's autism is a condition that seems to be more and more in the news these days. Jason, a wheelchair bound character, might be a character that others identify with or sympathize with. The setting is in modern day America and could be any place in America. The setting seems to be timeless so it makes this story a good one that will withstand time. The theme is mostly about compassion and understanding people with disabilities. Also, important is the concept of accepting those with disabilities.

While listening to the audio version of the book, I found it enjoyable to hear the voices of the characters and especially the voice of Ms. Almasy and Catherine. I got totally absorbed in the story as I listened and found that I did not want to quit. I read some of the book and listened to parts of it and thought that I preferrd listening to reading.

AWARDS/REVIEW EXERPTS:
JOHN NEWBERRY MEDAL, 2007 - Honor Book United States
NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOKS, 2007 - ALSC American Library Association, United States
BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS - "Readers with sympathize with Catherine's struggle to explain the world to David throug his beloved rules and her frustration at his demanding, embarrassing behaviors and his garnering the majority of parental attention."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - "Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability,"
KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Middle-grade readers will recognize [Catherine's] longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences."

CONNECTIONS:
Research Autism and living with autism. Websites:
http://www.autism-resources.com
Guest Speaker-Invite a doctor or specialist to talk to students about autism.