Ne r vo u s No l a n ' s

Mag i c a l Me e t i ng
by Julia Clarke
Chapter one Nervous Nolan

“Goodbye, Nolan, cheer up!” said the bus driver.
Nolan York jumped off the top step of the school bus into his big sister’s arms.
“AGGHH!” Maddie roared as she caught him. “You’re too heavy. You Yorkie-
porkie! You’re just a piggy-wiggy! Let me hear your best OINK!” she shouted as she
twirled around her short, skinny brother. But Nolan did not oink back at her as he
usually did.
She put him down onto the wet sidewalk, and asked “How’s lucky ducky
today?” When he did not quack back at her as he did every afternoon, Maddie
knew something was wrong. Nolan was one of the world’s best human quackers
and he usually liked to show off his talent. Animal noises were their favorite game.
If he wouldn’t play, something must be very, very wrong.
The school bus pulled away. Its gigantic wheels whooshed into puddles,
soaking Maddie and Nolan from hood to boot. Nolan hated being wet. He often
shouted “Ugh, yuck!” if he got even one sock a teeny bit damp. Today he was
dripping, yet he said nothing.
“Cheer up, Nolan, it might never happen!” yelled his friend Abigail out of the
school bus window.
“It IS going to happen. Tomorrow,” Nolan muttered.
“Why is everyone telling you to cheer up?” asked Maddie. She pulled down
his coat hood. She tugged his light brown hair until it stood on end and looked like
a toothbrush. Nolan stared at her with a face as grey as the rainy day. He kicked
a puddle. Then he stamped in a puddle. He was more drenched than ever, but he
hardly seemed to notice. Maddie accepted that Nolan was not going to laugh at any
of their usual jokes. She sadly pulled his hood back up.
When they reached home, Nolan’s dog Sparky came to meet him at the door,
woofing loudly with joy. His chocolate brown eyes followed Nolan’s every move
as he peeled off his wet clothes. Nolan’s tabby cat, Stripes, started to curl herself
around Nolan’s legs. His dad gave him a hug and said “Dinner will be ready in an
hour!” Nolan lifted the purring cat away from his ankles and ran up the stairs. A
very disappointed dog, cat, dad and sister stared at each other.
“What’s got into Nolan?” questioned his dad.
“Search me!” replied Maddie. “He’s the luckiest boy I know.”

It is true that Nolan was a lucky boy. He had kind parents. He had a big
sister with a silly sense of humor who was happy to meet him from the school bus
and walk him home every day. He had a few fun friends, and two of the world’s
best pets. He lived in a house that was very old and a little bit shabby, but it had a
garden big enough to kick a ball around in. He even had a bedroom all to himself.
There was just one thing that nine-year old Nolan did not have. Confidence.
BrilliantlyLit 2019 1 by Julia Clarke
 At home he talked so much that he was often called Mr Chatterbox. At school
he only talked to his close friends, like Abigail. In fact, he talked to everyone else
so little that he was sometimes called Shy Boy. Some of the nasty kids said that his
quietness meant he was hiding something. They called him Sly Boy. No-one knew
that the worst part of the day for Nolan was the attendance call. Every morning his
teacher called out the class’s names one by one in alphabetical order of their last
names. The kids yelled “Here, Mr Sanchez!” when their name was called. Because
Nolan’s last name was York, he had to wait while 25 other names were called first.
While he waited he got more and more nervous, wondering if his voice was going
to crack when he spoke.

Tomorrow he was going to have to speak in front of all 25 kids and Mr

Sanchez. He would not be expected to say just three words. He was going to have to
stand at the front of class and speak for two minutes! His grade four class had never
done public speaking before and now he was terrified.

When Mr Sanchez had told the class they each had to give a speech on a
research topic, Nolan had not been too worried. Mr Sanchez had given him a topic
he was interested in. The importance of recycling was something Nolan really
believed in. Writing the speech had not been difficult. Maddie had helped him to
find some facts on the Internet that proved his points. Although he was too lacking
in confidence to think it was an awesome speech, he thought it was quite good. The
problem was delivering it at the front of the classroom with 26 pairs of eyes staring
at him.

That evening he practiced his speech in his bedroom in front of Sparky

and Stripes. “Mr Sanchez and fellow students,” he began. Stripes meowed
encouragingly, but Nolan’s hands shook so much that one of his pieces of paper
fluttered to the carpet. He picked it up and started again. “Mr student and fellow
Sanchezs,” he began.
Thinking of his audience tomorrow made his throat dry. He took a drink of
water from his bedtime water glass. His hand was shaking so badly that he dropped
the paper again and knocked the glass over. Stripes could not take it any longer.
She zipped out of the room. Her fur was soggy, and she still did not know anything
about recycling. Sparky picked up Nolan’s paper in his teeth and gave it to him.
Nolan tried to give his speech again. And again. And again.

Nolan practiced for hours but he never managed to read more than half of
his speech before giving up in frustration. He refused to go down for dinner. This
alarmed his whole family. Despite being as thin as a laptop, Nolan had a healthy
appetite. For Nolan not to eat dinner was unheard of.
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“You must be hungrier than a horse!” yelled Maddie outside his bedroom
door. Nolan was one of the world’s finest human neighers. He usually took every
opportunity to display his talent. Tonight there was no reply, not even the tiniest
neigh. She tried to open the door, but she couldn’t. Nolan had pushed something in
front of it. “Come on, Nolan. You’re making Maddie saddie.” She rattled the door
handle. “Please! Don’t be a baddie to saddie Maddie.” Nothing. No reply. Not a
sound.
She plodded downstairs with a heavy heart. “We’re in trouble,” she told their
parents.
Their dad went upstairs and pleaded through the door with Nolan: “It’s your
favorite meal!”
His mom went upstairs and shouted to Nolan, “Your dad worked on that
spaghetti sauce all afternoon!” But Nolan would not come down, and after Sparky
had gone downstairs for his meal, Nolan would not let him back into his bedroom.

Just as Nolan raised his hand to nibble his nails, a magical visitor raised HIS
hand to knock on Nolan’s door.
spea
pub king
lic

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Chapter one questions

Answer the questions in full sentences.
1. What is the very first clue in the story that Nolan is unhappy?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. What is the second clue that Nolan is unhappy?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. We learn that Nolan has light brown hair that can stand on end. Which two
other aspects of Nolan’s appearance do we learn in this chapter?

a)________________________________________________________________

b)________________________________________________________________

4. How can we tell that Sparky the dog cares for Nolan?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. Maddie thinks her brother is extremely lucky, even though he might not think he
is at the start of this book! Find four reasons in the story why many people would
consider him lucky.

a)________________________________________________________________

b) _______________________________________________________________

c) ________________________________________________________________

d) _______________________________________________________________

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Chapter one questions

6. Based on the rest of the sentence, what does the word “shabby” mean? (Last
paragraph, page 1)
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

7. We are told that there are 25 other students in Nolan’s class, yet he is worried
about “26 pairs of eyes” staring at him. Who is the 26th person?

__________________________________________________________________

8. Give examples of three things that Nolan does while practicing his speech which
show his extreme nervousness.

a) ________________________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________________________

c) ________________________________________________________________

9. Why are his family very worried when Nolan refuses to come down for dinner?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

10. A simile is a comparison between one thing and another very different thing,
using comparison words such as ‘like’ or ‘as’. Hunt on page 2 for a simile about
Nolan and copy it out.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

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Chapter one activity

Writing Activity

Write the first three sentences of Nolan’s speech about the importance of recycling
for him!

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

BrilliantlyLit 2019 6 by Julia Clarke

 Answers
Chapter one answers
1. What is the very first clue in the story that Nolan is unhappy?
The bus driver tells him to “Cheer up!”
2. What is the second clue that Nolan is unhappy?
He does not return Maddie’s animal noises. He will not oink or quack.
3. We learn that Nolan has light brown hair that can stand on end. Which two other aspects of
Nolan’s appearance do we find out?
We learn that he is “short and skinny.” Later in the chapter we are told that he is
“as thin as a laptop.”
4. How can we tell that Sparky the dog cares for Nolan?
Sparky follows Nolan with his eyes.
5. Maddie thinks her brother is extremely lucky. Give four reasons why many people would
consider him lucky.
He has kind parents.
He has a fun sister who likes to spend time with him.
He has a few friends.
He has two wonderful pets.
Other answers include that his home has a substantial garden and he has his own
bedroom.
6. Based on the rest of the sentence, what does the word “shabby” mean?
As it is used to describe a very old house, it is an adjective that means the home
is a bit run down.
7. We are told that there are 25 other students in Nolan’s class, yet he is worried about “26 pairs
of eyes” staring at him. Who is the 26th person?
The teacher, Mr Sanchez.

8. Give examples of three things that Nolan does while practicing his speech which show his
extreme nervousness.
His hands shake so much he drops his papers.
He gets muddled up and says “Mr student and fellow Sanchezs”.
He even knocks over a glass of water.
9. Why are his family very worried when Nolan refuses to come down for dinner?
He usually has a healthy appetite and for him not to want dinner is “unheard of.”
10. A simile is a comparison between one thing and another very different thing, using
comparison words such as ‘like’ or ‘as’. Hunt on page 2 for a simile about Nolan and copy it out.
Nolan is “as thin as a laptop”.

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 Table of contents
Novel Pages Chapter assignments
10 short answer questions
Chapter one Nolan 1-3 and a short creative writing
activity

6 short answer questions

Chapter two The Magical Meeting 4-5 and a drawing activity

Chapter three The Confidence Spell 6-7 6 multiple choice questions

Chapter Four Nolan’s speech 8-9 7 short answer questions

Chapter Five Yikes! Another problem 10 -13 12 true or false questions

Chapter six The soccer try-outs 14 - 16 5 short answer questions

5 multiple choice questions

Chapter seven Problem #3 17 - 18 & 10 mix and match
questions

Chapter eight Wilbert to the rescue! 19 - 21 10 sequencing questions

Chapter nine Nolan triumphs 22 - 23 10 true or false questions

Chapter ten Nolan’s poem 24 - 25 5 short answer questions

Chapter eleven The Real Magic 26 - 27 5 short answer questions

Chapter twelve Wizarding HQ 28 - 29 5 multiple choice questions

5 multiple choice questions

Bringing the novel together two creative writing
questions & a drawing
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 I hope that your students enjoy this resource as much as mine did!
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Text by Julia Clarke and images by Derek Rowe; together we are Brilliantly Lit.

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