Book Review: Rules by Cynthia Lord

Rules by Cynthia Lord 
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules-from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"-in order to stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal? (From Goodreads).


Other rules for David include:

• If the bathroom door is closed, knock! (especially if Catherine as a friend over).
• Don't stand in from of the TV when other people are watching it.
• No toys in the fishtank.
• A boy takes off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.
• Some people think they know who you are, when really they don't.

Rules is full of heart and humor. Ms. Lord does an excellent job of describing a child with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). She shows how uniquely some kids think by using gentle words and appropriate humor. If fact, I have read Rules to my 4th - 6th grade students--some of whom are on the spectrum. It's amazing to see how they relate to David, even mentioning it out loud in class with total acceptance by their peers.