Rules (Realistic Fiction)

This book was very thought provoking. I think that Cynthia Lord does a fantastic job of putting the reader into the mind-set of a 12 year old girl struggling to make sense of her world. The book begins with the main character, Catherine, and her autistic brother, David. Catherine shows her frustration and exhaustion with babysitting her brother on the first three pages. This sets a tone for the book and gives the reader an immediate idea of what the theme of the novel is going to be. Catherine is in the middle of discovering herself but all the while she has to also figure out how to balance her life with her brother David and her life without her brother. Lord does a very good job of having each character reflect a different way of dealing with someone who has severe autism. Catherine is embarrassed, her mother is tolerant, her father is spread very thin, and Kristi, the next door neighbor, is immature. Through out the book the reader goes through the life of child with a sibling with a severe disability. Lord is able to really open the readers eyes and allow them to experience the pain of dealing with people who are intolerant. By the end of the book, Catherine realizes that it doesn't matter what other people think, and just because people are different doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated the same way.

I would use this book in the classroom if I was teaching an upper level group of 5th or sixth graders. This book handles complicated themes and issues that a 3rd or 4th grader might find hard to comprehend and appreciate. One way to ask students to reflect on their reading is to prompt them to think of a time when they themselves felt embarrassed or felt similar to Catherine. It could be a time from a simple as wearing mis-matched socks to a time where you experienced interaction with someone with a disability. This book is also a good resource to create classroom discussion and extend the literature. Children can mark the books like the image below and point out places in the text that they find interesting or thought provoking.