Moving to Naomi Avenue by Frank Murphy (best books to read ever TXT) đź“•
Excerpt from the book:
The follow up to Sister+Brother=Trouble!
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- Author: Frank Murphy
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But I have super powers. Did you know that?’
“Um. Sort of. I know Batman doesn’t have super powers,” Frank answered.
“Well I do,” Kyle said. “And I can jump out of tall trees. Wanna see?”
Frank didn’t want to see. It was way too high up for a kid to jump out. It was almost as high as the Thomas family’s house. “No. It’s okay,” Frank said.
Then, it was unbelievable to Frank. Kyle cleared another branch out of the way. He was perched on a thick branch. Kyle’s legs were bent and he was squatting, ready to jump. “Watch this,” Kyle said. Then he leapt into the air. He spread his arms and legs out. He screamed, “duh nu, duh nu, duh nu, duh nu…Batman…..” while almost floating through the air. Frank noticed he was wearing a black cape. It was tied around his neck. It actually flew in the air like the real Batman’s cape. Kyle headed toward the ground. He landed on his feet and rolled over on his side. He lay on the ground. But only for a moment. He stood up fast. Then he flexed his arms to show his muscles. (He didn’t have any!) Then he looked Frank in the eyes and said, “I am the real Batman.”
Frank felt like he just witnessed an amazing feat. He had never seen someone jump from such a high place and land. Frank thought about how Leon said he looked like an acrobat when he fell out of the kumquat tree. He thought about how Kyle was way more of an acrobat than he was.
“You are the real Batman. That was really cool,” Frank said. “Have fun Kyle. Bye.”
“Bye Fred,” Kyle said.
Frank walked over to the kumquat tree. He looked up at where the branch had broken. He thought about that day he and Kathleen tried to splash Leon. He felt sorry again for that day. He looked over to the cement driveway. There were so many skid marks from Kathleen’s and his bike tires. He thought about how Leon said his tire skid marks looked cool. He looked at the fence and the gate. He thought about Hilde and Heidi. He wondered if they were chasing horses at his Uncle Jack’s barn. He turned to his grandparents’ house. There were boxes packed up over there too. He thought about Grandpa’s stories. And he remembered that he never studied about the Wild West and Jesse James. He didn’t care anymore. He liked thinking that his grandpa really did meet Jesse James. Finally, Frank looked back at Kyle. He was running around and his cape was trailing behind him like the California State flag in the wind. Frank wondered if people really can have super powers.
Chapter 14
Goodbye
Thursday, June 22nd came. The mover men were coming at 8 o’clock in the morning. Mr. Murphy told Frank that they’d be all packed up and driving to Naomi Avenue by noon.
“What number goes with noon again?” Frank asked his dad.
“Twelve!” Mr. Murphy answered.
Frank subtracted 8 from 12 and got 4. He had four hours to say goodbye.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy told Kathleen and Frank to play in the yard, but stay out of the way of the movers. All of their stuff was packed up, so they didn’t have much to play with. Frank made sure some things didn’t get packed up. A pen, a piece of paper, an envelope and the gold medal.
Kathleen was outside in the backyard reading a book called Ramona the Pest. It was Kathleen’s favorite book. She had already read it twice. There were two things Frank didn’t understand about the book: number one – why would someone read a book over and over again, number two – why would someone have a sister named Beezus. (In the book Beezus is the name of Ramona’s sister.) He thought it was the scariest name ever.
Frank sat in his empty room. He wondered how he was supposed to say goodbye to a home. He had said goodbye to people before, like when he says goodbye to his mom before school. He always tells her he loves her. But he realized that kind of goodbye is different. All the times Frank said goodbye to people, he knew he’d see them again. Whenever his birthday was over, at night in bed he always said, “Goodbye birthday – until next year.” But there was always next year. Even when he said goodbye to Disneyland (the first time he went), he knew he’d be back again one day. But saying goodbye to his home on Lemon Avenue was different. It was a lonely goodbye. Frank thought that this was his first goodbye that was forever.
Frank decided to write a letter. And he was glad he had a pen and not a pencil. He figured writing with a pencil wouldn’t last forever. If he was going to write a forever goodbye letter he should use a pen.
Chapter 15
Writing a Letter
Frank knew he couldn’t write a letter to his house or the kumquat tree or Lemon Avenue. So he decided to write a letter to Leon. He lay on the empty hardwood floor of his empty bedroom. As he started to write the letter he realized he still wasn’t the best at spelling words and making sentences. He decided to get Kathleen. He ran out to the backyard.
“K? Will you help me?” he asked.
“With what?” she asked.
“I need to write a letter. And you’re better at writing,” he said. “Can you come to my room?”
“Okay,” she said.
They went back to Frank’s empty room.
“Please just write and don’t say anything? I wanna make this letter,” Frank said.
“Okay, okay. Tell me what to write,” she said.
“Okay. Here I go: Dear Leon,” Frank started.
Kathleen looked up and rolled her eyes.
“Please just write it for me? You said…”
“Okay. I’ll be quiet,” she promised.
Frank started over. “Dear Leon, I’m moving to Naomi Avenue. That’s where your friend Jimmy Choo lives. I wanted to say sorry for splashing you with vinegar and water. And sorry for me and my sister saying you were gross – ”
Kathleen interrupted, “I’m gonna write my sister and I. That’s the way you say it. Okay?”
“Okay,” Frank said.
“Hold on. Let me catch up,” Kathleen said.
Frank waited. “Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“ and weird. You are not weird. Thanks for saying my tire skid marks were cool. Thanks for hanging out that day at the hot dog car too. I think you are cool too. Here’s the gold medal you won at my school. You won it fair and square. I’m saying goodbye now. Good luck looking for flying bugs. Your friend, Fred.”
“Who’s Fred?” Kathleen asked.
“He calls me Fred. So does his brother Kyle. I figured if I signed my real name he wouldn’t really be sure about who wrote it,” Frank explained.
“Weird. Oops. Sorry. It makes sense,” Kathleen said. Kathleen finished writing all the words except one. “Here Fred, you can sign your own name. It’s F – R – E – D.” She handed Frank the pen, then she giggled.
Frank spelled out the name Fred.
“Thanks K,” he said.
“Here, let me have it. I’ll make sure he gets it,” Kathleen said. “I’ll tie it to the fence by the kumquat tree. I’ll slide the gold medal in so it’s like a present.”
“Really? Thanks, sis,” Frank said. He was surprised Kathleen wanted to help him because it had to do with Leon.
“No problem, bro,” Kathleen said. Frank noticed she didn’t have that horns, tail and pitchfork look, so he felt safe about the letter.
Chapter 16
Driving Away
Noon came quick. The mover men were ready in their big truck. All the Murphy’s got into the car. Mr. Murphy started up the engine.
“Alright. Say goodbye to Lemon Avenue, everybody,” Mr. Murphy said.
“Bye Lemon Avenue,” Mrs. Murphy said. “Thanks for the memories.”
“Bye weirdos next door. Bye mud pies in the back. Adios,” Kathleen said.
“I already said goodbye,” Frank said.
The car headed down the driveway, following the big moving truck. Frank turned around and looked out the back window. He saw Leon for the first time in days. He was standing at the fence. He was opening the letter. He watched Leon read the letter. He wasn’t sure Leon could even really read yet. But it sure looked like he could, because he started jumping up and down, down and up. Frank could tell he was shouting: WOOHOOOO! He watched Leon throw his arms in the air. He jumped up, twirling around. He was twirling around the gold medal too.
For the first time in his life Frank felt something he never felt before. Giving back Leon’s gold medal felt way better than winning that silver medal. And after that moment, he never thought about that silver medal again. Now he knew the answer to the question that Kyle made him think about. Frank knew that people really can have super powers.
Chapter 17
The Letter
The Murphy’s were gone. Leon stopped jumping. He was wearing the gold medal around his neck. Leon looked over to Fred’s house. Everything looked empty. It looked lonely.
Leon had already dropped the letter on the ground. He saved the envelope for bug collecting.
“Time for lunch, Leon,” Mrs. Thomas called out.
Leon ran into his house.
The letter lay on the ground, on the other side of the fence, at the bottom of the kumquat tree.
“Dear Leon,
I’m moving to Naomi Avenue. That’s where your friend Jimmy Choo lives. I wanted to say sorry for splashing you with vinegar and water. And sorry for me and my sister saying you were gross and weird. You are not weird. Thanks for saying my tire skid marks were cool. Thanks for hanging out that day at the hot dog car too. I think you are cool too. Here’s the gold medal you won at my school. You won it fair and square. I’m saying goodbye now. Good luck looking for flying bugs.
Your friend,
Fred
and Kathleen
“Um. Sort of. I know Batman doesn’t have super powers,” Frank answered.
“Well I do,” Kyle said. “And I can jump out of tall trees. Wanna see?”
Frank didn’t want to see. It was way too high up for a kid to jump out. It was almost as high as the Thomas family’s house. “No. It’s okay,” Frank said.
Then, it was unbelievable to Frank. Kyle cleared another branch out of the way. He was perched on a thick branch. Kyle’s legs were bent and he was squatting, ready to jump. “Watch this,” Kyle said. Then he leapt into the air. He spread his arms and legs out. He screamed, “duh nu, duh nu, duh nu, duh nu…Batman…..” while almost floating through the air. Frank noticed he was wearing a black cape. It was tied around his neck. It actually flew in the air like the real Batman’s cape. Kyle headed toward the ground. He landed on his feet and rolled over on his side. He lay on the ground. But only for a moment. He stood up fast. Then he flexed his arms to show his muscles. (He didn’t have any!) Then he looked Frank in the eyes and said, “I am the real Batman.”
Frank felt like he just witnessed an amazing feat. He had never seen someone jump from such a high place and land. Frank thought about how Leon said he looked like an acrobat when he fell out of the kumquat tree. He thought about how Kyle was way more of an acrobat than he was.
“You are the real Batman. That was really cool,” Frank said. “Have fun Kyle. Bye.”
“Bye Fred,” Kyle said.
Frank walked over to the kumquat tree. He looked up at where the branch had broken. He thought about that day he and Kathleen tried to splash Leon. He felt sorry again for that day. He looked over to the cement driveway. There were so many skid marks from Kathleen’s and his bike tires. He thought about how Leon said his tire skid marks looked cool. He looked at the fence and the gate. He thought about Hilde and Heidi. He wondered if they were chasing horses at his Uncle Jack’s barn. He turned to his grandparents’ house. There were boxes packed up over there too. He thought about Grandpa’s stories. And he remembered that he never studied about the Wild West and Jesse James. He didn’t care anymore. He liked thinking that his grandpa really did meet Jesse James. Finally, Frank looked back at Kyle. He was running around and his cape was trailing behind him like the California State flag in the wind. Frank wondered if people really can have super powers.
Chapter 14
Goodbye
Thursday, June 22nd came. The mover men were coming at 8 o’clock in the morning. Mr. Murphy told Frank that they’d be all packed up and driving to Naomi Avenue by noon.
“What number goes with noon again?” Frank asked his dad.
“Twelve!” Mr. Murphy answered.
Frank subtracted 8 from 12 and got 4. He had four hours to say goodbye.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy told Kathleen and Frank to play in the yard, but stay out of the way of the movers. All of their stuff was packed up, so they didn’t have much to play with. Frank made sure some things didn’t get packed up. A pen, a piece of paper, an envelope and the gold medal.
Kathleen was outside in the backyard reading a book called Ramona the Pest. It was Kathleen’s favorite book. She had already read it twice. There were two things Frank didn’t understand about the book: number one – why would someone read a book over and over again, number two – why would someone have a sister named Beezus. (In the book Beezus is the name of Ramona’s sister.) He thought it was the scariest name ever.
Frank sat in his empty room. He wondered how he was supposed to say goodbye to a home. He had said goodbye to people before, like when he says goodbye to his mom before school. He always tells her he loves her. But he realized that kind of goodbye is different. All the times Frank said goodbye to people, he knew he’d see them again. Whenever his birthday was over, at night in bed he always said, “Goodbye birthday – until next year.” But there was always next year. Even when he said goodbye to Disneyland (the first time he went), he knew he’d be back again one day. But saying goodbye to his home on Lemon Avenue was different. It was a lonely goodbye. Frank thought that this was his first goodbye that was forever.
Frank decided to write a letter. And he was glad he had a pen and not a pencil. He figured writing with a pencil wouldn’t last forever. If he was going to write a forever goodbye letter he should use a pen.
Chapter 15
Writing a Letter
Frank knew he couldn’t write a letter to his house or the kumquat tree or Lemon Avenue. So he decided to write a letter to Leon. He lay on the empty hardwood floor of his empty bedroom. As he started to write the letter he realized he still wasn’t the best at spelling words and making sentences. He decided to get Kathleen. He ran out to the backyard.
“K? Will you help me?” he asked.
“With what?” she asked.
“I need to write a letter. And you’re better at writing,” he said. “Can you come to my room?”
“Okay,” she said.
They went back to Frank’s empty room.
“Please just write and don’t say anything? I wanna make this letter,” Frank said.
“Okay, okay. Tell me what to write,” she said.
“Okay. Here I go: Dear Leon,” Frank started.
Kathleen looked up and rolled her eyes.
“Please just write it for me? You said…”
“Okay. I’ll be quiet,” she promised.
Frank started over. “Dear Leon, I’m moving to Naomi Avenue. That’s where your friend Jimmy Choo lives. I wanted to say sorry for splashing you with vinegar and water. And sorry for me and my sister saying you were gross – ”
Kathleen interrupted, “I’m gonna write my sister and I. That’s the way you say it. Okay?”
“Okay,” Frank said.
“Hold on. Let me catch up,” Kathleen said.
Frank waited. “Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“ and weird. You are not weird. Thanks for saying my tire skid marks were cool. Thanks for hanging out that day at the hot dog car too. I think you are cool too. Here’s the gold medal you won at my school. You won it fair and square. I’m saying goodbye now. Good luck looking for flying bugs. Your friend, Fred.”
“Who’s Fred?” Kathleen asked.
“He calls me Fred. So does his brother Kyle. I figured if I signed my real name he wouldn’t really be sure about who wrote it,” Frank explained.
“Weird. Oops. Sorry. It makes sense,” Kathleen said. Kathleen finished writing all the words except one. “Here Fred, you can sign your own name. It’s F – R – E – D.” She handed Frank the pen, then she giggled.
Frank spelled out the name Fred.
“Thanks K,” he said.
“Here, let me have it. I’ll make sure he gets it,” Kathleen said. “I’ll tie it to the fence by the kumquat tree. I’ll slide the gold medal in so it’s like a present.”
“Really? Thanks, sis,” Frank said. He was surprised Kathleen wanted to help him because it had to do with Leon.
“No problem, bro,” Kathleen said. Frank noticed she didn’t have that horns, tail and pitchfork look, so he felt safe about the letter.
Chapter 16
Driving Away
Noon came quick. The mover men were ready in their big truck. All the Murphy’s got into the car. Mr. Murphy started up the engine.
“Alright. Say goodbye to Lemon Avenue, everybody,” Mr. Murphy said.
“Bye Lemon Avenue,” Mrs. Murphy said. “Thanks for the memories.”
“Bye weirdos next door. Bye mud pies in the back. Adios,” Kathleen said.
“I already said goodbye,” Frank said.
The car headed down the driveway, following the big moving truck. Frank turned around and looked out the back window. He saw Leon for the first time in days. He was standing at the fence. He was opening the letter. He watched Leon read the letter. He wasn’t sure Leon could even really read yet. But it sure looked like he could, because he started jumping up and down, down and up. Frank could tell he was shouting: WOOHOOOO! He watched Leon throw his arms in the air. He jumped up, twirling around. He was twirling around the gold medal too.
For the first time in his life Frank felt something he never felt before. Giving back Leon’s gold medal felt way better than winning that silver medal. And after that moment, he never thought about that silver medal again. Now he knew the answer to the question that Kyle made him think about. Frank knew that people really can have super powers.
Chapter 17
The Letter
The Murphy’s were gone. Leon stopped jumping. He was wearing the gold medal around his neck. Leon looked over to Fred’s house. Everything looked empty. It looked lonely.
Leon had already dropped the letter on the ground. He saved the envelope for bug collecting.
“Time for lunch, Leon,” Mrs. Thomas called out.
Leon ran into his house.
The letter lay on the ground, on the other side of the fence, at the bottom of the kumquat tree.
“Dear Leon,
I’m moving to Naomi Avenue. That’s where your friend Jimmy Choo lives. I wanted to say sorry for splashing you with vinegar and water. And sorry for me and my sister saying you were gross and weird. You are not weird. Thanks for saying my tire skid marks were cool. Thanks for hanging out that day at the hot dog car too. I think you are cool too. Here’s the gold medal you won at my school. You won it fair and square. I’m saying goodbye now. Good luck looking for flying bugs.
Your friend,
Fred
and Kathleen
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