| Young Adult Literature and Multimedia—Resources |
Title: Rules
Author: Cynthia Lord
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Date Published: 2006
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Grade Level: Middle School
Booktalker: Karyn Pasqualitto
Background note about the author/selection:
Cynthia Lord was inspired to write RULES from her own life. One of her own two
children has autism. In an interview posted on her website, Lord says, "RULES came from a desire to explore my own feelings about
having one foot in two worlds: one of Œspecial needs where my family is
defined and challenged by that label and the Œregular' world. Straddling those
two worlds is a challenge for everyone in my family." She is a former teacher,
behavioral specialist, and bookseller, and she lives in coastal Maine. RULES is a 2007 Newbery Honor Book and a 2007 recipient of
the Schneider Family
Book Award.
Booktalk:
Chew with your mouth closed.Say "thank you" when someone gives you a present (even if you don¹t like it).
If someone says "hi," you say "hi" back.
It¹s fine to hug Mom, but not the clerk at the video store.
Keep your pants on! Unless Mom, Dad, or the doctor tells you to take them off.
If the bathroom door is closed, knock (especially if Catherine has a friend over)!
Sometimes people laugh when they like you. But sometimes they laugh to hurt you.
No toys in the fish tank.
In the book, RULES by Cynthia Lord, those are just a few of the many rules that Catherine is teaching her brother, David. In her sketchbook, Catherine keeps adding new rules to the list so that David will understand how the world works. David is autistic, and Catherine¹s life feels far from normal. She feels like her whole life and family revolve around her brother¹s disability, which often puts her into embarrassing situations, like the time he went he went running through her friend¹s house opening and closing the hallway doors. When Catherine goes along with David on his weekly OT visit, she meets Jason, a new friend who is so different, she¹s not sure her new neighbor, Kristi, will want to hang out with her if she finds about his handicap. This confuses Catherine and leads her to wondering, just what is normal anyway? When Kristi invites Catherine to a community center dance and asks her to bring Jason, she faces a dilemma. Is "leaving out" the same as lying? Will she have to choose between her new cool friend and a handicapped friend who others may not accept?
For more information/curriculum suggestions:
On understanding people with autism and other disabilities
Novels to compare and contrast:
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko. Putnam Juvenile, 2004.
A Corner of the Universe by Ann Martin. Scholastic Press, 2002.
Nonfiction:
Views From Our Shoes: Growing Up With A Brother or Sister with Special Needs by Donald J. Meyer. Woodbine House, 1977.
Websites:
Author¹s website: http://www.cynthialord.com
The Autism Society of America: http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer
Lesson Plans For Teachers: Understanding Kids Who Are Different: Activities for Teaching about Disabilities http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson115.shtml
Lesson plans from The Disability Rights Commission: http://www.drc-gb.org/citizenship/lessonplans/talkvideo/index.asp
These lesson plans, guides, and other
resource materials for young adult literature topics were created by
participants in a professional development course in young adult
Literature. Each resource is copyrighted by the individual
educator who developed the material. The present course
being taught is titled: Teaching Young Adult Literature in the Classroom from the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Sharron L. McElmeel, instructor)