Rules

Title: Rules
Author: Cynthia Lord
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication City: New York, New York
Publication Date: 2006
ISBN: 0-439-44382-2

Summary

Catherine is 12-years-old and she longs for a normal life. Catherine's younger brother David is autistic and her world revolves around him and his disability because that is what her family revolves around. David loves rules even if he does not always obey the rules. Catherine keeps a notebook with her that keeps her rules for David and any new rules she thinks up. For example, one of her rules is when someone says Hi, you are supposed to say Hi back. But this rule backfires when David says Hi to someone and they do not say Hi back. David shouts the rule at the person, who looks at David funny, which causes Catherine to run back home dragging David behind her.

Catherine is easily embarrassed by David because she does not like the pity looks David gets from people. But this summer is destined to be different when a new 12-year-old girl moves in next door who doesn't know about David's differences, and the chance to be a "normal" girl turns out to be too much for Catherine.

Jason is mute and has to use a book full of little cards with words in order to communicate. Catherine meets Jason at physical therapy where David goes every week, and Catherine tags along because it's the only time she gets her mother to herself. Catherine and Jason strike up a friendship that goes beyond Jason's communication abilities. But when the time comes to introduce Jason to the new girl, Catherine's reaction shocks every one who truly knows her. Has she really accepted the differences in Jason and her brother, or is she just kidding herself?

Review

Catherine wants to be normal because life with an autistic brother, David, is anything but normal. What Catherine does not realize is that normal is different for everyone, but what 12-year-old really knows that? Cynthia Lord, herself the mother of an autistic child, looks into the world of a child who is normal in the IQ-spectrum, but lives surrounded by the life of another child who demands attention because of their disability. Catherine cannot hate her little brother for his problems, and she knows and understands that. What Catherine cannot handle is the way other people treat David, and her when she is with him. Catherine must come to grips with her feelings about disability in general when she is faced by another person with a different disability.

Teens and children will love reading this book, as it's about confronting the preconceived notions people have about "handicapped" people. Jason's speech teacher yells every word to him, and at one point he tells Catherine that just because he is mute does not mean he cannot hear. Teens will love the interest that Jason has in music, and will identify with him when his mother refuses to let him buy a guitar. Rules forces the reader to examine themselves in the way they treat people with differences. Do they treat everyone the same or are they treating the person with disabilities as a lesser person? Is this something they do on purpose or is it unintentional?

As the sister of a younger brother with a learning disability, not as severe as David's, but with a family eerily similar to Catherine's, I would say that Lord did a good job of portraying Catherine and her pleas for normalcy. I love my brother, but when I was 12 I felt the same way that Catherine did. I was desperate for friends who would understand me and my little brother, and I was desperate for signs that my parents would notice me as someone, not just as a baby-sitter for Max. The words that Lord chooses for Catherine to draw for Jason that are her feelings are accurate.

Professional Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him (It's okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is anxious about her reaction to David. Then Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses a book of pictures to communicate, she begins to understand that normal is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to define. Rules of behavior are less important than acceptance of others. Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
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
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Connections

1. Have students research autism and what scientist think cause it. Are there any known cures? With the science teacher research other conditions involving the brain and report back to the class.

2. Spend some time with the special education class. Brainstorm ways you can help them learn, and then use them.

3. Buy a small cheap photo album, and create a word card for each slot. They must be words you use in everyday conversation. The words have to be school appropriate. Then for two days walk around with the book and you can only point to the word/s when you want to use it. Did you get frustrated after awhile? Write a short paper (1 pg) based on your experience and turn it in with the book.