Rules

Author: Cynthia Lord
Pages: 200
Rating: G

Summary:
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 head off David's embarrassing behaviors.
But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, 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?

My Thoughts: This is a great book for the elementary level to help kids learn about and understand kids who may be different from them because of an illness or disability. Catherine loves her brother and she understands that he's not like other kids, but she struggles with the face that David demands more attention from her parents. She also really struggles with the way other kids treat David. She doesn't like it when he is made fun of or treated like he is stupid. At the same time, she wishes she could fit in with other kids and not have them pity her because of her brother. The book is not very long, and it's not very complicated plot wise, which really makes it a perfect book for elementary school kids.