Module 7: Rules

Rules by Cynthia Lord

 

Summary: Rules is a Newbery Honor book about a girl name Catherine, who has an autistic brother named David.   Catherine struggles with her feelings about having an autistic brother, and how to deal with him when he is around her friends.  When Catherine goes with her mother to take David to his therapy appointments, she meets another boy named Jason who is a paraplegic.  As Catherine gets to know Jason, she starts to add new word cards to his communication board so that he can communicate more effectively.  Gradually Catherine and Jason become friends, and Catherine finds out that even though she is helping him, he is also helping her to cope with having an autistic brother and her feelings about people with disabilities.

 

APA Reference:  Lord, C. (2008). Rules. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Impressions: Wow!  Not only is Rules a very heartwarming book, but with the ever growing number of disabled people in the world, it is an amazing inside story that can help people not only to understand autism, but to take a look at the way they treat people with disabilities.  As the book progresses, the reader learns many traits of autistic people from David.  David sticks toys in the fish tank, he gets upset if people aren't on time, or if his plans are changed, and he does not like loud noises.  The book also can help kids who may have a disabled member in their family realize that they are not alone, and that some of the feelings they have may be normal.  As Catherine tries to cope with the judgments of others, she learns the important lesson from her mom that, "Just because other people think something, that doesn't make it true" (p. 179).  This book would be a great choice for a community reads book!

Professional Review:

Gr. 4-7. "No toys in the fish tank" is one of many rules that 12-year-old Catherine shares with her autistic younger brother, David, to help him understand his world. Lots of the rules are practical. Others are more subtle and shed light on issues in Catherine's own life. Torn between love for her brother and impatience with the responsibilities and embarrassment he brings, she strives to be on her parents' radar and to establish an identity of her own. At her brother's clinic, Catherine befriends a wheelchair-bound boy, Jason, who talks by pointing at word cards in a communication notebook. Her drawing skills and additional vocabulary cards-including "whatever" (which prompts Jason to roll his eyes at his mother)-enliven his speech. The details of autistic behavior are handled well, as are depictions of relationships: Catherine experiences some of the same unease with Jason that others do in the presence of her brother. In the end, Jason helps Catherine see that her rules may really be excuses, opening the way for her to look at things differently. A heartwarming first novel. -Cindy Dobrez


Dobrez, C. (2006, February 15). [Review of the book Rules, by C. Lord]. The booklist, 102, 98-99. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com/

Library Uses:
Host a youth book club using this book.  Talk about people with disabilities and how we should react around them.  Play some communication games where the participants can't talk, such as Telestrations (this is like the telephone game sketched out), or Morphology (a game where you make words out of objects).  Make hamster treats out of Twinkies in honor of David's pet hamster.