Chapter book 11

Title: Rules
Author: Cynthia Lord
Illustrator: n/a
Readability Score: 4.5
Awards: Newberry
Primary Characters: Catherine, David, Jason
Secondary Characters: Catherine's Mom, Kristi, Ryan
Theme: Accept people for who they are
Genre: Informational
Sub Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publicaton:2006
Publisher: Scholoastic Print
ISBN: 0-439-44382-2
Summary:  Catherine is a girl who has a brother with Autism. Catherine is embarrsed by her brothers behavior- but she loves him very much and is protective of him also. Catherine- in an effort to teach her brother how to act- has made a list of rules for him such as "No toys in the fish tank" and "Say thank you when someone gives you a present." Catherine dreams of having a best friend that lives besides her that she can play flashlights with. She thinks this dream is coming true when a girl her age moves next door (Kristi). Catherine worries David will ruin this dream for her and she tries to make him act "normal" when Kristi is around. Kristi ends up being a very "surface" person and does not try to David (or Jason) for who they really are- but only as different. Jason is a friend Catherine meets at David's OT clinic. Jason is wheelchair bound and unable to talk- the only communication he makes is with his communication book- which Catherine helps him make new cards for- which include words and pictures. Catherine struggles throughout the book with her realtionship/friendship with Jason and even her brother- especially in the presence of others. Catherine eventually begins to see that her life is fine the way it is- and the people in her life are fine the way they are. She waits for her best friend Melissa to return from summer break and she appears to be much more acceptaning of the things and people in her life.
How Would Use: This is a great book to show my students how life is with a disability. It not only affects the indiviual but their family members as well. Hopefully through this book and circle talks- the children can see that just becuase people like Jason- that cannot speak or are not mobile are still just like you and me and want the same things. I would have the students write and tell about someone they may know or would like to know that may have a disability or that just may need different type of things than some of us.