Cynthia Lord: Hi. This is Cynthia Lord and I am the author of the book Rules. I'm going to tell you a bit about how I came to write this book and then I'm going to read an excerpt to you.

The idea for Rules came from a question my daughter asked me one day. I'm an author, but I'm also a mom. I have two children, a daughter and a son, and my son has a disability called autism. One day when my daughter was about 10 years old, she came to me and asked me a question. The question was "Mom, how come I don't ever see families like mine in books and on TV?"

I remember thinking, "That can't be true. There must be books out there that include characters with disabilities and their families." I went looking for those books and I did find some. But the truth is, I thought most of the books that I found at that time were really sad. Sadness is part of living with my son, but it's only one part. It's also funny and wonderful and inspiring and sometimes it's frustrating and disappointing. It's everything that it is to live in any family.

So, I created my main character of Catherine. Catherine is 12 years old and she has a brother David who is 8 years old and David has autism. Catherine loves David, but she also wished that sometimes he would understand things easier and she wouldn't have to keep explaining things to him. So, she creates rules for him or little sentences about how the world works and how people behave.

Here are a few of Catherine's rules. Chew with your mouth closed. If someone says hi, say hi back. Not everything worth keeping has to be useful, and, no toys in the fish tank.

And, now I'm going to read to you from the book. This is from a scene where David has interrupted Catherine to tell her that he has put something in the goldfish tank.

By the time I get to the living room, David's already crouched in front of the fish tank, his smiling face reflected in the glass. Out the window behind the aquarium, I see Mom talking to the mailman.

And in the fish tank, one of my old Barbie dolls sits on the gravel, her arm raised in a friendly wave as though she's just spotted Ken across the living room and is inviting him to join her. "And don't forget the scuba equipment, darling."

Barbie's pink lipstick smile beams through the water, her long hair floating around her like a tangle of white-blond kelp. The goldfish nibble at it and Barbie, Queen of the Fishes, waves cheerfully.

The goldfish are used to David dropping strange beings into their tank. They always swim over to check out the newest arrival and try to eat it. When that doesn't work, they accept it along with their usual plastic plants and little castle.

"Remember the rule." I flip open the top of the aquarium. "No toys in the fish tank." David nods but I'm not fooled. He may not buy into the fish tank rule, but, he's got this one down pat. If you want someone to leave you alone, agree with her.