Rules of the House by Mac Barnett Book Review

Rules of the House by Mac Barnett 
Illustrations by Matt Myers
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: May 3, 2016

Rules are meant to be followed and Ian is the best rule follower in his home. His sister, Jenny, doesn't seem especially concerned about the rules, breaking them whenever it suits her. Which is why, upon arriving at their vacation home, Ian is pleased to see an already made list of rules. And Jenny doesn't obey any of them. Now the house is angry at their little rulebreaker and are ready to make a tasty soup of Jenny. Ian is faced with a terrible reality--should he rescue his sister even if it means to break the rules?

I was never much of a rule follower. I obey the law of course (most of the time), but will disregard the rules if it seems necessary. This is a matter of contention between by former-cop husband and I. Which means that, I could really relate to Jenny...although no  anthropomorphized household objects stalk me for it.

The best part of having these two extremes is that I think kids can find a bit of themselves in one or both characters. It is also a great opportunity, if you use books to do so, to discuss rules and what they mean. What rules should always be obeyed and which ones should be obeyed but only if someones life is in danger. Since I am always thinking in terms of adoption these days, I also think this one would be a great book for parents who are bringing in foster or adopted kids in this targeted age group to help facilitate family rules. Of course, there are the "monsters" in the story, but they feel almost like figments of the children's imaginations and their cartoony appearances should lessen any scariness.

A cute book for both the rule-follower and the rule-breaker.