Book Discussion Guide

Julie Black Belt: The Belt of Fire by Oliver Chin

Your family will love this illustrated tale of martial arts and teambuilding. Inspired by her favorite actress Brandy Wu, Julie wants to learn Kung Fu. The more she practices, the more she loves it. A new boy named Brandon shows up to the School of Martial Arts, and impresses Julie’s teacher, Sifu. Both Julie and Brandon want to be considered the very best and, as a result, lose their focus in class. A special visitor Master Chou teaches Julie and Brandon how to work together, and helps them learn that it is better to focus on improving themselves than impressing others. You and your child will have a great time learning alongside Julie in this action packed picture book. Readers will love the
focus on martial arts and will relate to Julie’s ambition to be like her favorite actress from her favorite movie: The Belt of Fire.

Questions To Talk About
While Reading

Vocabulary

It's important to make sure that your child has an understanding of key words in the book. Talking about words while reading is a great way for your child to learn new words.

In this book, you might talk about these words:

startled (pg. 2)
ordered (pg. 3)
gushed (pg. 11)
squabbling (pg. 11)
cautious (pg. 14)
approached (pg. 22)
discipline (pg. 22)
competitive (pg. 24)
menaced (pg. 25)
adversaries (pg. 28)
escorted (pg. 30)

You might use a question like:

On page 14, what does cautious mean? How do the images help you understand what it means? Why do you think the boy might be cautious?

Key Ideas and Themes

In addition to words, it's important to talk about key ideas and themes and how they develop over the course of the book.

Here are some examples to get you started:

1
It’s important that your child focuses on how stories begin – What information is revealed in the beginning? Who is introduced? What are their relationships? Talk with your child about how the author introduces Julie Black Belt. How do the illustrations on pages 1-4 help you understand what is going on in the story?
2
Julie goes through some changes over the course of the book. To get at these changes, ask your child, “How does Julie react to Brandon’s first day in class? What does this show you about what she is like?” Sketch a character map of Julie together: draw a picture of her and write out what she says, does, and thinks in response to Brandon. List some trait words, like “jealous” or “competitive” that describe Julie. After reading the entire book, make a second character map to show what Julie is like at the end. Compare the two with your child and talk about how Julie changes in this story.
3
Review the term “point of view” with your child. Authors show us (the readers) how characters view an event by using words and pictures to show what the character is thinking and feeling about the event. In Julie Black Belt, the author helps the reader understand both Julie and Brandon’s point of view. What clues does the author give you to help you understand Brandon’s point of view of his relationship with Julie?
4
Master Zhou has a handful to deal with when she meets Julie and Brandon! How does Master Zhou help Julie and Brandon solve their problems? Ask your child to summarize each of her lessons in his or her own words. One lesson you can focus on with your child is how Zhou teaches Julie and Brandon the importance of concentrating “on improving yourself, and not on impressing others.” You might talk about the series of events that helps Julie to learn this lesson.
5
The author tells Julie’s story in a series of scenes, almost like episodes on a TV show. As a family, make a flow chart of these episodes. How does each part of the story build off of the one before it?

Extra Activities

1
Have your child create a storyboard of the scenes the author shows from the movie, “The Belt of Fire.” He or she can use the words and pictures in the book for inspiration. Together, compare this to the flow chart you made as you talked about the series of episodes in Julie’s story. You might ask this question: How do Julie’s experiences mirror the events in “The Belt of Fire?”