The Young And The Brave
No Training Wheels Required

Nuff is an eight-year-old boy who is in second grade and likes hanging out with his friends. All of his friends are young and brave, having learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels. After playing in Nuff’s driveway for a while, his friends decide they want to go to the park. They all jump on their bikes and tell Nuff to get his bike and ride with them to the park. Unfortunately, his lack of bravery to ditch the training wheels keeps Nuff from joining his friends. He makes up a quick excuse that his mom wants him to clean his room. Nuff does not want to be teased by his friends for still having training wheels on his bike.

Arriving home from baseball practice Nuff’s big brother asks him why he is not at the park playing with all his friends. Nuff comes up with a quick excuse and tells his brother that their mom asked him to play with their little sister. A couple of day’s later Nuff’s big brother finds Nuff riding his bike in the garage (still with training wheels) and asks him why he is not riding outside. Nuff makes up a quick excuse that all his friends are busy and he is just playing around. Nuff gets off his bike, picks up a basketball, and starts bouncing it.

Training Wheels Aren’t An Embarrassment

Nuff’s big brother figures out that Nuff is embarrassed about his training wheels and tells him that riding is easy. He hops on his bike, and quickly shows Nuff how easy it is to ride. Handing his bike to Nuff, his big brother tells him to give it a ride. Nuff declines to ride his big brother’s big bike and tells him that he is hungry. Nuff throws the basketball aside and goes inside to get ready for dinner.

The following week Nuff’s big brother returns home from a baseball game to find Nuff looking sad as Nuff’s friends ride off down the street on their bikes. Nuff’s big brother asks him why he is not riding off with his friends. Caught red handed, Nuff explains that he is afraid of being teased by his friends about his training wheels and of falling off his bike. Nuff’s big brother tells him that he knows how he feels and that he felt the same way when he first learned how to ride without training wheels too.

Nuff’s big brother showed him a scar on his knee that he got when first learning to ride on two wheels and says, “See my battle wound? Cool, huh?” A terrified Nuff tells his big brother that he will never be brave enough to ride a bike without training wheels. Nuff’s big brother explains how he found that falling and cutting his knee was a small price to pay for all the freedom he got after learning to ride without training wheels. Telling Nuff that if he does not overcome his fear of falling, he will continue to miss out on all sorts of great things in life.

Bravery Comes With Practice

Nuff’s brother tells him he can go have fun with his friends and to stop being embarrassed about training wheels. Most importantly, how it’s easy to be brave. Nuff’s big brother says he will help Nuff learn to ride without training wheels. After a quick spin around the garage Nuff’s brother hands his bike to him and says, “Give it a try.”

Wanting to show his bravery Nuff tries to ride his brother’s big bike. He immediately crashes before he is even out of the garage, scraping his knee. Nuff runs into the house screaming and crying before his big brother can stop him. While cleaning up his knee Nuff’s mom tells him that everyone falls when first learning to ride. She shows Nuff a “battle wound” that she has on her knee from when she learned how to ride. She tells him that he is a brave little boy and doesn’t need to be afraid of a little scratch. Nuff’s mom puts a bandage over his wound and kisses it. Realizing that everyone falls and gets back up, Nuff is determined to show how brave he is.

Running back to the garage Nuff finds that his brother already removed his training wheels from his bike. “Let’s do this!” Nuff yells. With his brother helping him to balance his bike, Nuff races out of the garage on two-wheels. Halfway down the driveway he is alone and riding on his own. A couple of times up and down the driveway and Nuff is riding like a pro.

To celebrate Nuff’s bravery the brother’s ride to the park together. Before long Nuff is speeding ahead of his big brother on the bike path, and catching up with his friends.

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Reviews

“This was a well written story about a kids first time riding a bike without training wheels. I’m training my daughter right now to do the same so this book was fitting for us to read together. It’s okay to fall. Just get back up and keep trying…eventually, you will get it. Great adventure!” — Casey Morris

“This was a great story to read with my 9 year old. It’s almost as if the book was written about him. The main character Nuff, his friends and family were so real, my son could relate 100 percent. He just learned how to ride a bike with training wheels, and like Nuff, he too was nervous about the neighborhood kids making fun of him and he feared falling and getting hurt. And just like the story, receiving the proper support from his older brother and his mother gave him the needed boost to face his fears and get it done. The illustrations are great and help bring the story to life. Looking forward to reading other books from this author with my kids.” — E. Lopez

“Lovely and relatable book about a boy who learns learns to get over his fears of riding a bike. Great story that most kids will be able to relate to and love the lesson to be learnt here! Great illustrations too!” — Esther Francis