I read this book in a few hours. A quick read, but good for 4th or 5th grade readers. It's a glimpse into the life of a 12-year-old girl, Catherine, who has a younger Autistic brother, David. The author, Cynthia Lord, has two children - one of whom has Autism. She writes with familiarity of the day-to-day challenges of living with an Autistic child.
Catherine finds herself struggling to make friends because it's hard to find another 12-year-old who understands the place that David holds in the world. She also feels that her parents don't give her the attention that she needs because David consumes all of their time and energy.
During the course of the book, Catherine becomes friends with a boy in a wheelchair who has a disability that constricts his movements and his ability to communicate verbally. Jason uses a book of 2"x 2" word cards to communicate with others. As the friendship between Jason and Catherine grows, she uses her artistic talents to create more and more communication cards for Jason.
This is a good book for students to read to gain an understanding of the challenges that special children and the siblings of special children face. Catherine's on wish in life is for everyone to have the same chances in life...and to for everyone to have a place in the world.
Rules is a Newbery Honor Book.
Rules also won the Schneider Family Book Award, which is awarded to a book that "embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences" (ALA website - www.ala.org).
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