The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Globe Life

Related Photos

Discussion

July 20, 2007

Book review: 'Rules' is a mesmerizing debut

“Rules,” by Cynthia Lord

(For grades 4-8)

Twelve-year-old Catherine would like nothing more than to have a “normal” brother, but what she has is David.

Eight-year-old David is autistic and this causes Catherine to feel torn between the intense love that she feels for him and the embarrassment that his actions typically cause. In an effort to help David understand the world, Catherine creates rules for him. “Keep your pants on! Unless Mom, Dad, or the doctor tells you to take them off” and “No toys in the fish tank” are two examples. When Kristi moves in across the street, Catherine is excited and hopes that she will have a new friend for the summer, but she is also uneasy about how her new neighbor will react to David.

Then while waiting for David to finish his occupational therapy sessions, Catherine befriends Jason, a nonverbal, wheelchair-bound boy who communicates by pointing at word cards in a notebook. Catherine uses her creativity and drawing skills to create more word cards — including my personal favorite “Stinks a big one!!!” — to spice up Jason’s dialogue. Jason’s friendship does not come without problems, but ultimately Jason helps Catherine realize that “normal” does not really exist and accepting others is what is really important.

Lord’s debut novel is mesmerizing. Catherine’s narration is genuine and one can sense the love, as well as the frustration that she feels toward her brother. This novel will spark discussions in classrooms, among family members, and in book groups.

“Hattie Big Sky,” by Kirby Larson

(For young adult)

Sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks has been passed between relatives most of her life. She is tired of being “Hattie Here-and-There” and longs for a life where she does not feel indebted to family members she barely knows.

When her late uncle Chester leaves her his homestead claim near Vida, Mont., Hattie jumps at the chance to leave Iowa and make a new life for herself. Upon arriving in Vida, Hattie is surprised to discover that she has less than one year to fence and plant her land in order to keep it. Despite the hard work of putting up fences, picking rocks, eating her own cooking and surviving in the Montana wilderness, Hattie loves her new home and her newfound friends and neighbors. Especially, Perilee Mueller, her German husband, Karl, and their children. For the first time in Hattie’s life, she feels as though she belongs. However, with Traft Martin scheming to buy her claim, the war pressuring her to be a loyal American, and an anti-German bias making trouble for the Mueller family, Hattie must find the strength to stand up for her convictions.

This fascinating novel was inspired by Larson’s great-grandmother, who homesteaded alone in eastern Montana as a young woman. Larson does an excellent job of describing the “big sky” landscape and thanks to the dozens of homesteaders’ journals that she read prior to writing the novel, provides a unique historical fiction account of what homesteading was like in 1918.

Both titles are available for check out at the Joplin Public Library.



Jeana Gockley is the children’s librarian at Joplin Public Library.

Text Only
Globe Life
  • 051913_star-rack2.jpg Prototype of a drying rack for Stars of Hope earns award, emotional response

    Michael Moritz, Travis Coffee and Kenneth Paylor had no idea that an assignment for their senior design class at Missouri Southern State University would win an award or the emotional gratitude from a service organization.

    May 20, 2013 2 Photos

  • ryan richardson Ryan Richardson: Groups give tips for preventing dog bites

    When I was a teenager in the '90s I had an unfortunate incident with my neighbor's dog, a Brittany, that I had grown up with. It took a chunk out of my thigh when I went into the neighbors' yard to retrieve a ball.

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

  • 091108-Frankie-Meyer_c.jpg Frankie Meyer: Information is only as good as its source

    Those details later become crucial as contradictory information is found, which it will be. How can one decide which detail is correct if the sources of the details are unknown?

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

  • Jeana Gockley 2013.jpg Jeana Gockley: Library lines up reading club books

    The Joplin Public Library's annual Summer Reading Club kicks off on Tuesday, May 28, so in preparation for a great summer of reading, I have been digging for titles that fit with this year's "Dig Into Reading" theme.

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

  • 091108-Frankie-Meyer_c.jpg Frankie Meyer: Prepare for holiday visits to cemeteries

    Memorial Day weekend is the ideal time to not only decorate the graves of loved ones, but also learn the location of unmarked graves -- and learn about relatives who are buried nearby. That weekend is also a great time to contact living relatives.

    May 13, 2013 1 Photo

  • images_sizedimage_032123610 Patty Crane: Mystery series should appeal to Reacher fans

    In the novel "Taken" by Robert Crais, a bajadores is a predator that kidnaps people being smuggled into the country. The bajadores, the Syrian, demands ransom from families of the people he kidnaps. His ransom demands are low, and as long as the families pay, the demands continue.

    May 13, 2013 1 Photo

  • ryan richardson Ryan Richardson: Harness works better than a leash

    This is the time of year to take your dog outside to enjoy the weather. You both get exercise, you bond more, and it gives you an opportunity to work together as a team. I take my dog out as much as I can, and my dog is happy to see other dogs when we go on walks.

    May 13, 2013 1 Photo

  • r050713academicstars5.jpg Mutual admiration: Academic Team members thank teachers for inspiration, drive

    Members of The Joplin Globe's All-Area Academic Excellence Team thanked teachers for inspiring them to push themselves during a recognition banquet Monday at Missouri Southern State University.

    May 13, 2013 1 Photo

  • images_sizedimage_312124454 Linda Cannon: Book covers subtleties' effects on humans

    I'm always a sucker for books on what makes people tick, so I grabbed "Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave" by Adam Alter as soon as I saw it. Alter holds a Ph.D. in applied psychology from Princeton and is an assistant professor at NYU.

    May 6, 2013 1 Photo

  • 091108-Frankie-Meyer_c.jpg Frankie Meyer: Old home sites treasures to discover

    We genealogists do a similar activity as part of our research. The treasures that we seek are old home sites. Instead of using GPS coordinates, we use clues such as the presence of rusted metal, cellar holes and vintage plants.

    May 6, 2013 1 Photo