Rules by Cynthia Lord

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lord, Cynthia. Rules. New York: Scholastic Press, 2006. ISBN 9780385746779

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Twelve year old Catherine deals with the everyday frustrations of her autistic brother. She makes rules for him to follow to keep herself from being embarrassed and to set boundaries for him. Catherine befriends a paraplegic adolescent boy, for whose communication board, she creates words for and whose friendship causes her another emotional struggle when he asks her to a dance.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Told in a first person narrative, Newbery Award winning, Rules helps you understand what it is like to live with a sibling with autism. The three R’s: Repetition, Routine, and Redundancy, are cleverly written into the text so that you are unaware that these are the mainstay tools needed for autistic people to survive. Having a child with autism allows Cynthia Lord to write with special insight. The dialogue between the siblings and friends draws you into the emotional rollercoaster that Catherine is going through. You ponder what your own feelings would be if you were the one going through the same situations.
This book deals with the subjects of acceptance of others and friendships, from a humorous, adolescent perspective.

Interest level grades 6-8

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Deborah Stevenson, Associate Editor (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2006 (Vol. 59, No. 9)) Readers will sympathize with Catherine’s struggle to explain the world to David through his beloved rules and her frustration at his demanding, embarrassing behaviors and his garnering the majority of parental attention. This is an absorbing tale about valuing people even when it’s difficult, and it may encourage readers to consider the benefits and challenges of their own families and friends.
CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2007) As Catherine struggles to find her way into these new relationships, her feelings for her brother float realistically between frustration, embarrassment, love, protectiveness, and everyday sibling ups-and-downs.
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
John Newbery Medal, 2007 Honor Book United States
Mitten Award, 2006 Winner United States
Schneider Family Book Award, 2007 Winner Ages 11 to 13 United States
Skipping Stones Honor Awards, 2007 Winner Multicultural and International Awareness Books United States

5. CONNECTIONS
• Have students decide on one pet peeve they want to eliminate and write a rule for it.
• Create words for a person to use with a communication board, like Catherine made for Jason.
• Role play the siblings relationships and come up with ways to circumvent the situations that can be real catastrophic in a family.
• Read other fictional books about autism
Anything but typical written by Nora Raleigh Baskin 2009. ISBN 9781416963783
Playing by the rules: a story about autism written by Dena Fox Luchsinger 2007. ISBN 9781890627836
Looking after Louis written by Lesley Ely 2004. ISBN 9780807547465
Marcelo in the real world written by Francisco X. Stork 2009. ISBN 9780545054744. ages 14+

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rosoff, Meg. How I live now. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2004. ISBN 978055337605
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Fifteen-year-old Daisy leaves New York City to live with her deceased mother’s sister and cousins in the countryside of England. Daisy’s new laid back country life takes her on a new big sister protective role when war breaks out and the family is separated. Taken far from her new home, Daisy leads her nine-year-old cousin on an adventure to make it back to their country home through a war torn country.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Michael L. Printz 2005 Award winning book, How I Live Now, deals with many realistic themes of life within a country at war. Told through a first person narrative Daisy shares many heart wrenching emotions dealing with incestuous romance, anorexia, adolescence, love, courage and violence. Meg Rosoff writes with such intensity that you get caught up in the struggles of the characters, wanting to find quick solutions to their problems. The mood of the characters often switches from serious to humorous and the events range from playful and mysterious to dangerous and exciting with a lot of action packed in. Use of capital letters, hyperboles, and metaphors gives Daisy a sarcastic and compelling voice. Rosoff packs a lot of highly disturbing events dealing with relationships and war into a fast thought provoking novel that keeps you captivated until the end. Ages 15-18

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 14)) This is a very relatable contemporary story, told in honest, raw first-person and filled with humor, love, pathos, and carnage. War, as it will, changes these young people irrevocably, not necessarily for the worse. They and readers know that no one will ever be the same.

Timnah Card (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 2004 (Vol. 58, No. 1)) Throughout, the paradisiacal setting of the English countryside and the wretched, sometimes horrifyingly violent lives of the embattled people who live there are presented with such luxurious, terrible realism that readers will remain absorbed to the very end by this unforgettable and original story.

Awards, Honors, Prizes, Best Books:
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, 2004 Winner United Kingdom
Michael L. Printz Award, 2005 Winner United States
Horn Book Fanfare, 2004 ; Horn Book; United States
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books , 2004 ; Cahners; United States

5. CONNECTIONS
• Class discussions about teens and their roles during war can be explored.
• Other topics to explore and discuss – sibling separation, anorexia, teen sex, eating disorders, loss of a parent, survival techniques

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Greg Heffley's Journal by Jeff Kinney

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a wimpy kid: Greg Heffley's journal. New York: Amulet Books, 2007. ISBN 9780810994553

2. PLOT SUMMARY
A novel in cartoons, character Greg Heffley chronicles his sixth grade year with his best friend Rowley. Greg is the ring leader getting him and Rowley into all kinds of trouble. Funny and easy to read, you end up rooting for Greg to make better decisions.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Simple line drawings filled with emotion and very easy to follow humor, Diary of a Wimpy Kid keeps you laughing at the silly situations middle school kids get into. Jeff Kinney captures the essence of adolescent boys without being judged by adults. Text flows easily from situation to situation leading you on adventures of everyday life of two friends who are nerdy, wimpy kids trying to be cool middle school boys. Kinney brings new life into brainless antics that boys seem to get into and makes you want to keep reading the hilarious episodes.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Todd Morning (Booklist, Apr. 1, 2007 (Vol. 103, No. 15)) Greg tells his story in a series of short, episodic chapters. Most revolve around the adolescent male curse: the need to do incredibly dumb things because they seem to be a good idea at the time.
CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008) Often lighthearted and silly, Greg’s journal also manages to tap into common issues of early adolescence—controlling parents, school bullies, evolving friendships—that will resonate with his real-life peers.

5. CONNECTIONS
• Create your own cartoon chronicling a year in your life.
• Create a new look for Greg as he matures into a young adult. Then create new situational cartoons as he gets older.
• Add a new female character to Greg and Rowley’s friendship. Describe how she fits in and what situations they get into.
• Create a cartoon about the antics you and your best friend get into.