Brave As - Levels- 29-30

Brave As follows Matt, who faces a day full of challenges, including delivering a speech and dealing with a call from Jules, the school bully. As Matt confronts his fears and resolves these conflicts, the story explores different notions of bravery and resilience. The book uses insightful illustrations showing facial expressions and body language, plus Matt's œbuilt-in picture screen that depicts his inner thoughts. It thoughtfully portrays Matt's speech difficulty, encouraging empathy and understanding. Features such as thought bubbles and descriptive language like œA tide of red flooded his skin enrich the emotional depth and humour throughout. This narrative fosters students' abilities to relate text to personal experience, predict outcomes, and understand complex ideas around character growth and mental health within a school context.

Educational Benefits:

• Builds empathy through understanding personal challenges and disabilities
• Enhances skills in predicting outcomes and relating texts to personal experiences
• Encourages analysis of descriptive language and figurative expressions
• Supports recognising verb inflections and comparing authorial styles

Classroom Ideas:

• Hold discussions on different forms of bravery and personal courage
• Use thought bubbles to explore character feelings and motivations in writing
• Practice role-playing scenarios to build confidence and empathy
• Compare this text with other stories about overcoming challenges

Information:

• Ages: 9-11 years
• Reading Level: 29-30 (Sapphire)
• Format: Paperback, 48 pages
• Dimensions: 20.5 cm x 13.5 cm