By: Cynthia Lord

Rules is told from the perspective of Catherine, and is about her younger brother being autistic. Catherine just wants to feel like any other normal 12 year old and she gets frustrated that her brother is not normal. Catherine makes a list of rules for David (her brother) that will help him understand social norms, and to help him not be a victim of bullying because he's different. At first Catherine gets really frustrated with David, but then she becomes friends with Jason, who has a mental disability. This unlikely friendship helps Catherine question what normal really is and helps her to become more accepting of others.

This is a great book for teaching acceptance in schools because young children need to learn that everyone is different. They also need to learn that is not okay to bully someone just because they have a mental disability or they are different from you. It is also important for children to realize that not everyone comprehends something the same way, and it is important to be understanding of everyone's differences.

I really enjoyed this book because it expresses how children view something like autism, and how they deal with it. Throughout the whole book Catherine was accepting of her brother and she defended him from people who were mean to him, but there were times when her frustration got the better of her. I had a really strong connection with this book, because I have a family member who is autistic. I know that it can be frustrating when people aren't accepting of people who have autism. But I think this was a good book because instead of taking the view point of a adult or parent that has a child with autism, it looks at the siblings of children with autism and how they come to terms with it.

 

"Porch Lies" is a collection of short stories that took place during the 1930s. It was common in the 1930s for people to sit on their porches after dinner with their friends and family and tell each other stories. These stories were called "porch lies". The point of these stories was for the audience to determine what bits of the story were true and what were exaggerations. Every story in this book has a different moral, and as the reader it is your job to find the moral of the story that is hidden within the "lies".

This collection of short stories is a great way for students to learn about different cultural practices as well as some history. These stories are set in the 1930s, and they give some insight as to how many people handled the Great Depression. More specifically, it takes a look at African Americans during the Great Depression, and how they turned to blues music for comfort. Not only does this book provide some history on the Great Depression, it shows cultural practices for African Americans during this time period. These book takes a look at how most African Americans passed time in the evening by telling porch lies, how they used blues music as a form of escape from the Depression, and it also gives insight into the language they used. When a character is speaking in this book, they language that is used is not proper. The speakers' grammar is somewhat lacking, and a good portion of slang is used. Although, in my opinion, this made it harder to understand the speakers in the book, it can be used as a tool for teaching students that not everyone will use the sound alike or use the same words or phrases when speaking. 

I honestly did not have a very strong connection with this book other than I find the time period of the Great Depression somewhat interesting. Not only did I not have a strong connection with this book, I also did not enjoy it. However, I do believe that this book is a great way to teach students about cultural diversity in history.