Rules

Lord, C. (2006). Rules. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-1-4287-3809-6 (Follett bdg.)


Plot Summary:
Summer just started, her best friend is in California visiting her dad, and a new girl her age just moved next door.  Catherine has a younger brother, David, that has Autism. Catherine is torn between the life she wishes she had, with a “non broken” brother, and her current life where she is her brother’s protector.  Her family doesn’t always see the problem with his disability, but as a way to help him in different aspects in life, she has created a book of rules. Rules that David doesn’t understand, at at times, he doesn’t know that they are not set in stone. She befriends Jason, a boy her age, in the OT facility waiting room where her brother goes for his therapy, while helping him with creating word cards that he uses to communicate with others.  Jason sees past her excuse of not dancing when she declines his invitation to attend a dance at the community center. When he calls out her excuse, she is forced to decide what she considers to be “normal.”
Analysis:
Lord is a parent of a son with Autism.  Her perspective and first hand experience allows her character of Catherine to be believable in regards to her love and loyalty to her brother along with the resentment towards the positive attention he gets from her parents.  David also gets negative attention from strangers, Lord uses her words to add hurt and embarrassment to the things that Catherine feels yet, her brother is so oblivious to. Pre-teen & teen readers could really relate to Catherine and her desire to fit in with different groups & be liked.  Lord does a great job of showcasing the many different ways that families with children with disabilities must do things differently than those “normal” families in daily life. She used many of the different characteristics that children with autism display, and created the character of David. The novel is a good read & could be tackled quickly with the way that Catherine narrates this story.
Review Excerpts:
Reviewed by KIRKUS, March 2006.  “Catherine is an appealing and believable character, acutely self-conscious and torn between her love for her brother and her resentment of his special needs. Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences.”
Reviewed by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, April 2006.  “ A rewarding story that may well inspire readers to think about others' points of view.”
Newbery Honor Book 2007
Schneider Family Book Award 2007
Connections:
Materials for “Rules” from C. Lord. Discussion guide & printables available.  http://cynthialord.com/for-teachers.html#rules
Deeper talks-- Readers can talk about autism. What is it? What would it be like to live with an autistic person? What might it be like to be autistic? Is autism the same in every case?
Writing Connection--readers  might be interested in creating their own lists of rules for daily living.

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