Module 6 - Book focusing on character with disabilities - TWU - Multicultural Literature

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Lord, Cynthia. 2006. RULES. Detroit: Thorndike Press. ISBN 9780786295593.

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Catherine, 12 years old, just wants to be normal and to have a normal family. But, she has a big responsibility helping to care for her 8 year-old autistic brother. She realizes that he doesn't just know things like regular people know them, so she creates a list of rules for him to remember, such as "chewing with your mouth closed," "flushing the toilet," saying 'hi' back when someone says 'hi' to you," etc. Catherine also really wants a friend to live in her neighborhood, and she finds out that a new girl is moving in soon next door. She hopes that this new girl will be a really good friend, just like the kind she has created in her imagination. While attending Occupational Therapy with her brother, she makes friends with a boy in a wheelchair, who cannot speak, but "talks" by tapping a "communication book." This relationship, as well as the other situations in her life, starts Catherine thinking about what makes a person "normal" and how to accept a new definition of "normal."

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This is a very pleasant book, that is well-written. Cynthia Lord states in the author's notes that this is first book, and that she is also the parent of an autistic child. The story feels real and authentic. I have a nephew with a form of autism, and David, the boy in the story, reminded me lot of him. I am familiar with a lot of the actions and reactions that autistic children have. My son also has three autistic boys in his Cub Scout group, and again, what I was reading was familiar. Ms. Lord writes what she knows and lives each day. This story was easy to get into and to get involved with very quickly. It is an easy and fast read, but has a lasting positive message about living and interacting daily with a person who has a disability. It is not easy sometimes, but there are some very special moments that make it all worth while.

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The are a lot of markers in the book that help the reader understand the two disabilities that are described in this story. David, has autism, and here is a passage that helps to describe it for the reader:

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I know she needs me to babysit sometimes, but I hate when she tells me he shouldn't be any trouble. Trouble comes quick with David, and "should" doesn't have anything to do with it. He should remember to flush the toilet, too, but that doesn't mean it happens.

When Mom had gone, I took my long mirror off my door and propped it at an angle against one corner of the living room, so I could work at my desk and still see David reflected in the mirror.

Every few words I make, I glance out my bedroom doorway to the mirror. David stands at the TV, the remote in his hand. He loves rewinding the trains backward up the tracks and speeding them ahead to almost crashing, over and over.

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The other character in the book with a disability is Jason, who is in a wheelchair, and cannot speak, but he uses a "communication book" to talk with people:

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Jason taps, and I tear my focus away from Kristi passing the last streetlight at the edge of the park. Catherine. Pretty. Today.

I nod. "It's a very pretty day."

Jason touches my arm. Catherine. Pretty.

My neck feels prickly. I rub it, looking down to a frill of seaweed, bits of rope and a broken lobster trap caught between the huge rocks at the water's edge. What does he mean? Is he being nice or telling me he likes me?

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Catherine is funny in this book as she tries to fix her problems, but the reader can also feel her heartbreak, when she deals with the burden of David's autism, and the lack of attention from her parents for her needs and problems. Having a child with a disability is difficult at times, and you can see it easily in one scene in which David is really scared of a bumble bee, and the mother comforts him, but the father does not. It places a strain on everyone, even in the best of circumstances. I think that Ms. Lord describes this very well, it is not right or wrong, it just is the way it is.

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One thing that is very special is that Catherine and David have developed a language of their own. Catherine has read the book "Frog and Toad" so many times to David that they both have it memorized. David uses lines from the book to describe or explain his thoughts and emotions. Catherine does the same and speaks back to him using lines from the book. It creats a very poignant and special feeling when they do this. It is while using this special communication that Catherine is best able to remember how much she really loves her brother and that all of the hardships are really worth it.

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I think that middle school students are really going to enjoy this book. It is a quick and easy read, but with such a good story. Children with disabilities may be able to relate to it, or kids knowing someone with a disability may enjoy it because it helps them understand a little more. But, any student will be in for a real treat reading this story. It could be promoted using a booktalk with classes, or perhaps an interesting book trailer could be created and played in the library.

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From School Library Journal

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Grade 4-7-Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him (It's okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is anxious about her reaction to David. Then Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses a book of pictures to communicate, she begins to understand that normal is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to define. Rules of behavior are less important than acceptance of others. Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.