"Rules" by Cynthia Lord-- Newbery Honor Book

            “Rules” by Cynthia Lord is one of the greatest books that I have read throughout this semester.  The book is about a girl named Catherine and the difficulties she faces in having an autistic brother.  She meets a boy named Jason at the OT that her brother goes to.  She and Jason strike up a friendship, despite the fact that Jason’s only means of communicating is a communication book that he keeps with him on his wheelchair.  Catherine wants to be liked by her new neighbors Kristi, but is afraid of what she will think of her if she’s with her brother and Jason.  In the end, Catherine overcomes her fear of what people will think of her and brings both Jason and her brother to the dance held at the community center in the end of the book.

            I really liked that this book opened my eyes to the perspective of being related to someone with special needs.  I never realized before reading this book how much it must hurt families to have to see the stares or pitied looks of those around them.  This book also gave me a new perspective for the abilities of non-verbal students.  I am ashamed to admit that I never really imagined being close friends with someone who was non-verbal.  Catherine’s story really helped me to see that my view of students with special needs is very small and that I need to be willing to open up to all that they have to offer.

            I honestly could not put this book down once I began reading.  I think that reading the entire book in one day helped me to stay enthralled and engaged in the story line.  Being able to sit outside on such a beautiful warm day helped me to relax and to fully engage in the story.  I fear that if I had read this book in a hurry, or in the midst of a busy time at school, I would have missed the full impact the story had.

            I realized that children’s literature can be a very informative tool for learning about different children’s personalities and struggles.  Literature can truly be used to create empathy within oneself for someone else’s situation.  I would like to use literature in my classroom more often to teach my students about the cultures of others.  Most of the students at my school are extremely sheltered and don’t realize how blessed they are.  I think reading more literature that expands upon the hardships of others may help to open the eyes of my students to the world around them.