Rules

Courtesy of Scholastic

Bibliography

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. New York: Scholastic, 2006. Print. ISBN 9780439443821

Plot Summary

Catherine teaches her brother David to fit in as much as he can with his Autistic behaviors. She makes rules to help him understand how to act in situations. She wants to be friends with the new girl, Kristi, but sometimes her brother gets in the way. Coincidentally, she becomes friends with a boy in a wheelchair who uses communication cards to speak. Initially, she thinks this friendship will only be at the clinic where they see each other, but she’ll have to make up her mind if she’s willing to be his friend in public in front of Kristi.

Critical Analysis

This story reminds me a little of an After School Special in that the it’s built around a moral the audience can see coming from a mile away. However, I liked those stories when I was a young adult because the issues were things I had to face. Rules is a good book for young readers learning who they are and coming to terms with their public image. Siblings of those with disabilities will especially identify with the characters, and others will develop sensitivity to disabilities. A greater knowledge of Catherine’s character may have provided more depth to the story.

Events of the story are realistic, as is the setting. However, the town and neighborhood seems a bit too perfect or dated as they have a nice little pond nearby to swim in and the town is a tourist town on the shore. Dialogue is simple and clear. The plot, while not incredibly suspenseful, urges on to a satisfying resolution as Catherine’s decision is made at a community dance. Lord writes the book simply and clearly around the rules which govern David’s and Catherine’s life as the events of their summer unfold. At the end she includes an activity about rules and a how to draw a guinea pig guide from Catherine’s sketch book. Overall, this is a sweet read that will encourage children to be proud of their decisions.

Awards and Review Excerpts

2007 Newberry Honor Book

2007 Schneider Family Book Award

2009 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award

From Kirkus Reviews: “Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences.”

From Publishers Weekly: “A rewarding story that may well inspire readers to think about others' points of view.”

From School Library Journal: “When Cynthia Lord wrote the Newbery Honor winning book Rules she made her narrator not an autistic boy, but rather his put upon older sister. This was remarkably clever of her.”

Connections

Allow students to research a disability or illness and present what they’ve learned.

Create a multi-media book trailer.

Give students time to learn drawing skills since Catherine loved to sketch.

Students may want to write a story of friendship with illustrations.

Students may enjoy creating a new and improved word list for Jason or others.

Create a book review to include in the school library webpage.

Students may be inspired to start friendships or partnerships with disabled students within the school.