Rules

Written by: Cynthia Lord

First line: "Come on, David."

Why you should read this book: Like many siblings of special needs kids, Catherine wishes her autistic brother could just be normal, or at least quiet about his weirdness, and she's devoted a lot of her life to teaching him the rules that other people intuitively understand, like not taking your pants off in public and not throwing toys in the fish tank. When a new girl moved into her neighborhood, Catherine just hopes David won't drive off her cool new friend. Meanwhile, in the waiting room at David's occupational therapy, she becomes friends with an older boy who is completely non-verbal and wheelchair-bound, and what would the the other kids say if they knew who she was spending her time with?

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you want the alternate perspective from the point of view of the non-verbal kid stuck in the wheelchair, you might try Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.