Sir Noodle the Brave
Sir Noodle the Brave
by ReadRead · 4 min readA big roar, a big shadow, and a very small dragon. A story about how you can tremble and still be brave.
Free to read
This book is free for every family.
Start readingInside the book
Noodle is a little knight with a wooden sword, and Oats is his pony. When a big ROAR comes from the dark wood, they go to look. Their knees tremble. On the rock they see a big, big shadow with wings. But behind the rock is a dragon as small as a cat, with its tail stuck in a prickly bush.
The new words in this book
Doing a hard thing even when you feel scared. It comes up 8 times, and every time Noodle stands tall with his sword up or takes one more step.
To shake a little because you are scared. It comes up 7 times: the castle flags, Noodle and Oats, the little dragon, Noodle’s hands and the small animals of the wood all really shake.
The last line puts the two words together: “You can tremble and still be brave!” Every other word is a common word, like castle, knight, pony, rock, shadow and tail.
Questions to ask while you read
Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.
- 1What does a knight need? What does Noodle have?
- 2What made that big ROAR? What do you think?
- 3How do Noodle and Oats feel in the dark wood?
- 4What would you do if you heard a ROAR behind a rock?
- 5Look at the shadow. What could it be?
- 6Is the dragon big or small? Why was the roar so big?
- 7Why does the little dragon roar?
- 8Noodle’s hands tremble. Is he still brave?
- 9Tap each friend: who needs help to be brave?
- 10When did you tremble but do it anyway?
How hard is this book?
About 250 words, sentences of 6–8 words, dialogue.
- Dialogue × 11“What was that?” says Oats.
- Questions × 2“What was that?” says Oats.
- Commands × 3Pull! Out comes the tail!
- Not / no × 2Oh no! Its tail is stuck in a prickly bush.
- Past tense × 4“What was that?” says Oats.
- Will / going to × 1“Don’t be scared. I will help you,” says Noodle.
- Contractions × 2“Let’s go and look!” says Noodle.
- Bigger / biggest × 1But Noodle takes one brave step, then one more.
- Because / when / if × 1“I roar because I am scared,” says the dragon.
All 114 words, most used first
the 19 · a 14 · is 10 · and 8 · brave 8 · says 8 · tremble 7 · big 6 · i 6 · it 6 · little 6 · but 5 · roar 5 · be 4 · dragon 4 · to 4 · you 4 · am 3 · as 3 · comes 3 · from 3 · go 3 · on 3 · one 3 · rock 3 · tail 3 · wood 3 · are 2 · behind 2 · bush 2 · can 2 · castle 2 · dark 2 · everyone 2 · help 2 · here 2 · his 2 · home 2 · hooray 2 · in 2 · into 2 · its 2 · now 2 · scared 2 · small 2 · then 2 · they 2 · too 2 · very 2 · what 2 · animals · because · begins · breaks · cat · cheers · crack · don't · down · each · flags · for · goes · green · hands · has · he · head · hill · hoof · lamps · let's · lights · long · look · looks · me · more · no · oh · out · pony · prickly · puff · pull · quiet · reaches · ride · see · shadow · so · sound · step · stick · still · stuck · sun · takes · tall · tap · thank · that · there · toe · together · trees · under · want · warm · was · we · will · wings · with
Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.
Tips for parents
- First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch.
- Before page six, stop and ask “What is behind the rock?” Let them guess.
- Act out the words together: shake all over for tremble, then stand tall with an arm up for brave.
- Talk about a time your child was a little scared and still tried. Call it by the book’s name: that was brave.