As Brave As You

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. Where are Genie and Ernie’s parents going to be while the boys are in Virginia?

2. What is the name of the girl whom Genie and Ernie meet on their first morning in Virginia?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Genie wakes up in the morning, what does he find in the guest room, and to whom did it once belong?

2. Why hasn’t Genie and Ernie’s father told them that their grandfather, Brooke, is blind?

3. What does Genie like about talking to Brooke on his first morning in Virginia?

Paired Resource

“Rural Virginia” and “NYC Brooklyn Drone”

• These brief videos, 1 minute and 4 minutes respectively, offer commentary-free footage of rural Virginia and Brooklyn, New York.
• These resources relate to the theme of The Effect of Marital Problems Upon Children.
• What reason do Genie and Ernie’s parents give for leaving them in Virginia? Is this fair? If you spent your entire life in one of these two places and your parents decided to leave you for a month in the other place, what kinds of emotions might you feel? What evidence is there in the story that shows how the boys feel as they try to adjust to their new environment?

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. What instrument does Brooke play?

2. What is Tess’s father’s name?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Brooke comes out of the mysterious locked room, what does Genie notice about him?

2. While talking with Brooke in the middle of the night, what does Genie learn about his father’s anger toward Brooke?

3. How did Brooke get the scar on his ankle?

Paired Resource

“Mental Health Monday: Coping with Vision Loss”

• This 3-minute video is a KCAL News profile of a young dancer learning to thrive despite vision loss.
• How does Jamie Kadish cope with her vision loss? How is her attitude different from Brooke’s attitude? What resources does Kadish have access to that Brooke does not seem to have? How might Brooke’s situation be different if he had access to these resources? In a symbolic sense, what is Brooke “blind” to? How might better access to resources help him “see” this situation more clearly?

Chapters 9-11

Reading Check

1. What is Tess’s mother unusually afraid of?

2. What supposedly lucky item does Binks sell at the flea market?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Genie do at Tess’s house while Ernie spends time with Tess?

2. How does Genie accidentally kill one of Brooke’s birds?

3. What solution does Tess come up with to fix the problem of the dead bird?

Paired Resource

“How to Deal with Guilt So It Doesn’t Drag You Down”

• This clear and thorough article by Kimberly Drake explains the sources of guilt, when it is healthy and when it is unhealthy, and how to cope with the feeling.
• This resource relates to the theme of Guilt.
• According to Drake’s article, when is guilt a good thing to feel? When can it be unhealthy? Based on the information shared in the article, is the guilt that Genie feels about the toy truck and Brooke’s bird a healthy or unhealthy kind of guilt? What might Brooke do to start feeling better?

Chapters 12-15

Reading Check

1. Who does Genie believe left the beer cans and cigars at the old house in the woods?

2. What does Ernie injure when the revolver kicks back and hits him?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What tradition has Brooke started for neighborhood boys when they turn 14?

2. What reasoning does Brooke give Crab to convince him that he owes Brooke a favor?

3. What does Genie realize about his nighttime walks with Brooke?

Chapters 16-18

Reading Check

1. While at the hospital, what do Ernie and Genie learn their grandmother did for a living?

2. What celebrity’s tooth did Genie supposedly buy from Binks at the market?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When their grandmother shows the boys their uncle’s Purple Heart, what does she tell them about the men in their family?

2. Why is Ernie so against his grandmother’s plan to take him to Binks for a second opinion about his teeth?

3. How does Genie fix the broken toy fire truck?

Paired Resource

“Perfect"

• The lyrics to this approachable song by Simple Plan describe the pain a child feels because of perceived parental rejection.
• This resource relates to the theme of Guilt.
• Which character’s perspective do these lyrics mirror? How does the speaker feel about making mistakes and their father’s reaction to those mistakes? What evidence is there in the story that Brooke has a hard time realizing that he has a right to not be perfect? Why do you think it might be harder for a parent to realize this than it might be for a child to realize it?

Chapters 19-21

Reading Check

1. What does Genie’s grandmother throw away after she gets angry at Brooke?

2. What gift does Brooke give Ernie after the conversation about Binks in the boys’ bedroom?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Genie and Brooke come in after their walk in Chapter 19, why is Genie’s grandmother so angry at Brooke?

2. During the conversation in the boys’ bedroom, what surprises Genie about his grandfather’s eyes?

3. When Crab appears in Chapter 21 with more supplies for Brooke, what does Brooke do that shows he is really trying to change?

Recommended Next Reads 

Brave Like That by Lindsey Stoddard

• In this middle-grade novel, Cyrus’s dad is a local hero and everyone expects Cyrus to grow up just like him. Cyrus feels he is sure to be a disappointment, until he learns he has his own way of being brave.
• Shared themes include Bravery and Masculinity and Guilt.
• Shared topics include relationships with grandparents, self-acceptance, adjusting to change, the importance of honesty, and family traditions and heritage.

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

• In this middle-grade novel, when middle-schooler Lily, her older sister, and their mother move in with Lily’s eccentric and seriously ill Korean grandmother, Lily must face her fears and grow up quickly.
• Shared themes include Guilt and Bravery.
• Shared topics include relationships with grandparents, difficult family relationships, coming of age, accepting the imperfections of adult role models, unfamiliar surroundings, and family traditions and heritage.
• When You Trap a Tiger on SuperSummary