Level N

Fiction
A Hero for
Pursuing Our Dreams
Plunkett Street

Leveled Library

1-800-421-3018 90000
www.zaner-bloser.com

PRINTED IN THE USA

9 780736 787857
Story by Mary E. Furlong
Illustrations by Maurie Manning

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 Talk About It  Discuss the following questions. Use examples
from the book to support responses.
• How did Joe help the students at his school?
• How can you help at your school?

Draw a Superhero  Create a superhero and make a poster

like Joe did at the end of the book. Think of a fun name and
creative costume. Then discuss with your friends and family
how the superhero and you can help make your school a
A Hero for Plunkett Street
safer place.
Story by Mary E. Furlong
Vocabulary  Practice these words by using them in
Illustrations by Maurie Manning sentences and talking about how they relate to this book.

ISBN: 978-0-7367-8785-7 deeds (p. 3) snatched (p. 13)

Copyright © Zaner-Bloser, Inc. fault (p. 4) squinting (p. 15)

snarled (p. 7) wobbled (p. 19)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, details (p. 8) jabbing (p. 20)
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the Publisher. The Publisher has made every effort to trace the conversation (p. 11) sagged (p. 22)
ownership of all copyrighted material and to secure the necessary permissions to
reprint these selections. In the event of any question arising as to the use of any
material, the Publisher, while expressing regret for any inadvertent error, will be
happy to make any necessary corrections.

Zaner-Bloser, Inc., P.O. Box 16764, Columbus, Ohio 43216-6764

1-800-421-3018, www.zaner-bloser.com

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 (25160) 5 4 3 2 1

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 A Hero for
Plunkett Street

Story by Mary E. Furlong

Illustrations by Maurie Manning

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 Chapter One
A New Kind of Hero
“Wait until you see him—Wonder Kid, the hero of
Plunkett Street.”
The sky was gray and gloomy after an all-night
rain. But Joe Martin’s face was as bright as the sun
with excitement. Using his forefinger, he wrote an
imaginary W in the air. Then he made a running jump
over a big rain puddle. “The totally amazing boy hero
of Plunkett Street,” he added. “He’s the very best
superhero I’ve ever created.”
Mike Williams hurried to catch up with his friend.
“What’s so special about Wonder Kid?” he asked.
“I’ve got so many
good ideas for him,”
said Joe. “For one
thing, he won’t always
look like a superhero.
He’ll live right here on
Plunkett Street, and he’ll
go to Plunkett Street
School. Nobody will
know he’s Wonder Kid
until he springs into action.”

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 Drawing cartoon characters was Joe’s favorite thing
to do. He spent most of his time on superheroes. He
liked to make up exciting adventure stories about them.
He told the stories in pictures that showed his heroes in
action. He always shared his pictures and stories with
Mike.
“What will Wonder Kid do?” Mike asked as the
two boys walked on. “What kind of exciting action
will he spring into? There’s never any trouble here on
Plunkett Street.”
“Wonder Kid won’t
have to do his good
deeds near home,” said
Joe. “He’ll go all over
the world doing things to
help people. But when
his adventure is over,
he’ll come back home to
Plunkett Street. Nobody
here will know that he’s
Wonder Kid. Even when
there’s news about him on
television, they won’t know
who it is.”

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 The two boys soon joined the crowd in front of
Plunkett Street School. Students piled out of buses onto
the wet sidewalk. Walkers waved to a crossing guard
as they streamed across the street. Teachers blew
whistles to get everyone to line up.
Suddenly, a big kid stomped through a puddle,
making the water splash. “Hey,” yelled a smaller kid
as the water hit him. He lifted his school books high so
they wouldn’t get wet.
“Hey?” said the first kid in a loud voice. “Hay is for
horses, kid. Don’t give me hay.” He laughed in a mean
way and kicked at the water. The smaller kid tried to
jump out of the way. But this time, he was too late, and
the water soaked his books.
He looked around to see if a grownup was
watching. But the teachers and the crossing guard
were all too busy to notice his problem.
“That boy should carry his books in a backpack,”
said a girl. It was Margaret Jefferson, a classmate of
Joe and Mike’s. “It’s really his own fault that his books
got wet,” she went on. “He should be more careful,
especially when it’s been raining.”
“He should tell a grownup what happened,” said
Margaret’s friend, Sue Davis. “Even if he was careless,
that other boy shouldn’t have splashed him.”
4

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 “I don’t think he should tell,” said Mike. “If he does,
other kids will call him a tattletale. Even grownups don’t
like it when kids tell on each other.”
“Well, he’ll have to say something,” said
Margaret. “His teacher is sure to ask him how his
books got wet. Besides, sticks and stones may break
his bones, but . . . ”
“But names will never hurt him,” finished Sue.
“That’s what people always say, but I’m not so sure
it’s true. I think bad names really do hurt people.”

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 Mike gave Joe a playful poke with his elbow. “The
girls seem to think that kid needs help,” he whispered.
“Maybe this is a job for Wonder Kid. Maybe his
first good deed should happen right here on Plunkett
Street.”
Before Joe could answer, the bell rang, and the
busy school day began. Joe had no time to draw
pictures of Wonder Kid. But he thought about his new
hero from time to time. He thought of Mike’s whispered
words as well. Maybe the
trouble in front of the
school was a job for
Wonder Kid. Maybe
he could solve
little problems on
Plunkett Street.
The little problems
would give him
practice for solving
big ones. It would
be a new kind of
superhero story. Joe
could hardly wait to
start to work on it.

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 Chapter Two
An Artist at Work
That evening, Joe hurried through his math and
spelling homework. Then he got started on his Wonder
Kid adventure story. First, he divided his drawing
paper into rows of picture frames. In the first frame, he
drew a crowd of kids in front of Plunkett Street School.
Wonder Kid was there, looking just like any other kid.
The W on his sweatshirt was the only thing that set him
apart.
The next few frames
told the story of the
splashing water. Joe
made everything look
larger than life. The
big kid snarled like the
meanest of monsters.
The splashing water
rose up as high as ocean
waves. Finally, Wonder Kid
decided to come to the rescue.
His chest puffed up and his arm muscles bulged. He
sailed through the air, high above the waves. With a
huge garden hose, he sprayed the mean kid.

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 “This is great,” said Mike when he saw Joe’s work.
“It’s funny and exciting at the same time. It’s like the
way things really looked, only bigger and better.”
“That’s the way cartoon artists do their drawings,”
said Joe. “They enlarge some things, and they make
other things smaller. They make people look like
themselves, only funnier or braver. They add some
details, and they leave some things out.”
“Well, it really does work,” said Mike in an
admiring voice. “But you didn’t have to change the
little guy at all. He looks exactly the way he did
yesterday morning. His hair didn’t stand up on end in
that funny way. But otherwise, he looked just like this
picture.”
Surprised at what Mike said, Joe studied his own
drawing. Sure enough, the smaller boy did look really
scared. His eyes were huge ovals, and he held his
hand over his mouth. He looked as if he were trying
not to cry.
“This drawing surprises me,” Joe told Mike. “I
didn’t know I was making the kid look so scared.
He doesn’t even laugh when Wonder Kid sprays his
garden hose. He doesn’t see the funny side at all.”

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 “Well, I think it’s funny even if he doesn’t,” said
Mike. “I’m sure Margaret and Sue will think so, too.”
He waved to the two girls, who had just turned the
corner. “You have to see Joe’s Wonder Kid story,” he
yelled. “I know you girls are going to love it.”
Suddenly, Joe felt shy about showing off his
drawings. What would the girls think of his superhero?
Would they understand the story that he’d told in
pictures? Would they think it was exciting and funny?
Or would they decide that it was just plain silly?

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 Margaret and Sue looked at the drawings for quite
a while. Joe passed the time by watching the people
on Plunkett Street. He looked at their faces and at the
way they moved. He wanted to be able to draw them
later on. Some of the grownups looked worried, as if
they were late for something. Most of the kids wore
happy grins as they hurried along. A few kids walked
alone, their faces sad, their shoulders drooping.
Kids on school buses pressed their noses against the
windows. Kids crossing the street greeted the crossing
guard.
Joe looked around for the boys he’d drawn for his
adventure story. He wanted to see if the bigger one
still looked mean. He wanted to find out whether the
smaller one was still scared. But the two boys were
nowhere to be seen.
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 At last, Margaret and Sue finished looking at
the Wonder Kid story. “It’s just amazing, Joe,” said
Margaret. “I never knew you were such a talented
artist.”
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” agreed Sue. “You should
show it to Mr. Rosen, the art teacher. He’ll want
everyone in the school to see it.”
“There’s only one thing missing from your story,”
said Margaret. “You didn’t draw the crossing guard or
any of the teachers.”
“There’s something else that’s missing,” added
Sue. “None of the people in your story say anything. It
would be better if you had some conversation.”
Mike rolled up the drawing paper and handed it
back to Joe. “Sue is right, and Margaret is wrong,”
he said. “Talking is a good idea, but grownups are a
bad idea. You can’t have much of an adventure story if
there are grownups around.”
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 Chapter Three
More Ideas
Later on, Joe gave more thought to his cartoon
story. He decided that Mike and Sue were right. The
people needed to talk to make it more interesting. “No
problem at all,” Joe said to himself. “I’ll just add some
speech balloons to the pictures I already have. Then I’ll
make up some things for people to say. Sometimes I’ll
write the words that were really said.”
Joe drew speech balloons in some of his story
frames. In one frame, he made Wonder Kid say, Ho
hum. Nothing ever happens here on Plunkett Street. In
another, he wrote the word Hey over the smaller boy
who got splashed. He laughed as he wrote Hay is for
horses above the mean kid’s head. He added some
sound words, like SPLASH and SPLAT, and SWISH.
Then in giant letters, he wrote, THIS IS A JOB FOR
WONDER KID!
As he worked, Joe thought about the small boy. He
tried to change the picture to make him look braver. He
made the boy laugh—Ha-ha—when the mean kid got
wet. Nothing worked. No matter what Joe did, the boy
went on looking scared.

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 After a while, Joe gave up trying to change things.
He had lots of ideas for other stories about Wonder Kid.
He didn’t want to forget them, so he started to draw.
He began by working fast, making quick sketches
to finish later on. Again and again, Joe’s superhero
zoomed into action to save the planet. He put out a
huge fire in a tropical rain forest. He changed the path
of a comet headed for Earth. He snatched lightning
bolts out of the sky with his bare hands. He bravely
faced enemy aliens from outer space. As he set out on
each adventure, he shouted, “This is a job for Wonder
Kid!” When the job was done, he always came home
to Plunkett Street. There, he was just a regular kid.

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 Mike, Margaret, and Sue liked all of Wonder Kid’s
adventures. “Wonder Kid is the best superhero of them
all,” said Mike. “I like the stories about him saving the
planet. But my favorite is the true story that happened
right here. I liked it best when Wonder Kid was the
Plunkett Street hero.”
“Me, too,” said Sue, nodding in
agreement. “I liked that story the
first time I saw it. I like it even
better now that you’ve added
speech balloons. Why, even
the water talks—SPLASH,
SPLAT, SWISH.”
“You should have put
some grownups in the
story,” said Margaret. “Just
the same, I like it the best
of all the adventures.”
“Someday, I’ll draw
another Plunkett Street story,”
Joe promised. “I’ll keep my
eyes and ears open for ideas
right here at school.”

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 Chapter Four
Accidents Happen
The next day, in the lunchroom, Mike spotted a sad
face. “It’s that kid in your first Wonder Kid story,” he
told Joe. “It’s the one whose books got splashed with
water. He’s sitting right over there, all by himself.”
“So he is,” said Joe, squinting his eyes to get a
better look. “I wonder why he isn’t with other kids from
his class. It’s no fun to eat lunch all by yourself.”
“Don’t keep staring at
him that way,” said Sue.
“My mom says it’s rude to
be too nosy.”
“We’re not nosy,
just interested,” said
Margaret. And she
led the way across the
lunchroom. “There’s
an empty table beside
him,” she called over her
shoulder.
Balancing their lunch trays, the others followed
after Margaret. But before they reached the empty
table, another kid walked up. It was the big, mean kid
who had splashed the water.
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 “Well, look who’s here,” said the mean kid in a
loud voice. “I think it’s my old friend, little Tony, the
tattletale. How are you doing today, Tony Tattletale?”
Tony looked down at his tray, saying nothing.
“What’s wrong, Tony Tattletale?” the mean kid
asked. “Did you find out that telling doesn’t do you any
good? What did your teacher say when you told on
me? Hey, look at me when I’m talking to you.”
The mean kid banged his fist on the lunch table.
Tony jumped and then looked up at him, his eyes wide.
“She thought it was an accident,” he said in a low
voice.

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 “Of course she did,” said the mean kid. “That’s
because I explained the whole thing to her. Accidents
happen all the time, Tony Tattletale.”
With that, the mean kid gave Tony’s lunch tray
a shove. It landed on the floor with a loud crash. A
cardboard carton tipped over, and milk spilled out. A
hot dog rolled out of its bun. “See what I mean, Tony
Tattletale?” said the mean kid. “Just like that, your lunch
tray accidentally fell on the floor. Maybe you’ll have
even more accidents before the day is over.”
The mean kid walked away, whistling as he went.
A grownup, one of the lunchroom helpers, rushed over
to help Tony.
“Accidents happen,” she said as she mopped up
the milk. Tony nodded but didn’t say anything at all.
“He should tell her what really happened,” said
Margaret. “Grownups are here to help us with our
problems.”
“He told his teacher about the first problem,” Sue
reminded her. “I guess she didn’t pay much attention to
him. She listened to the other boy instead.”
“He won’t ever tell on that big kid again,” said
Mike. “He doesn’t like being called a tattletale.”

17

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 Then, Mike turned to Joe. “Here’s your chance to
draw another Plunkett Street adventure story,” he said.
“You don’t have to tell me that,” said Joe. “I can see
for myself that this is a job for Wonder Kid.”
Then and there, Joe went to work on his new story.
He used lunchroom paper napkins to make sketch after
sketch of Tony and the mean kid. He wrote long lists
of words to use in his speech bubbles. He thought and
thought about how Wonder Kid could come to Tony’s
rescue. He was so busy he almost forgot to eat his
lunch. So did his three friends.
After school, Joe settled down to finish the story. At
first, he drew the things that had really happened in the
lunchroom. In some frames, he drew Tony and the mean
kid from head to toe. In other frames, he drew close-ups
of their faces. In one frame, only the lunch tray and the
mean kid’s hand could be seen.
Then, the make-believe part of the story began. As
the tray zoomed across the table, Wonder Kid flew into
action. Before it hit the floor, he slid his hand beneath it.
Balancing it on his fingertips, he spun it around.

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 Faster and faster the tray spun until, at last, it took
off. As kids laughed and cheered, the tray sailed around
the lunchroom. Because of its shape, it wobbled as it
spun. But it made a smooth landing, right in front of
Tony. Nothing spilled, not even a drop of milk.
The mean kid’s eyes grew wide with surprise.
Wonder Kid waggled his fingers at the kid. The words
in his speech bubble read, “Care to go for a spin?” The
mean kid was too frightened to answer.
The last frame showed him running from the
lunchroom. All around him were laughing sounds:
HA-HA, TEE-HEE, HO-HO-HO, YUK-YUK.

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 Chapter Five
A Job for Wonder Kid?
Mike, Margaret, and Sue all liked the new Wonder
Kid story. “I just love all the laughing sounds,” said
Sue. “But I think you should have made a picture of
Tony laughing. That would be a good ending.”
“He could be the one saying ‘YUK-YUK,’” added
Mike.
Joe nodded politely, although he didn’t agree with
Sue and Mike. He couldn’t imagine even a tiny smile
on Tony’s face. The Wonder Kid stories were lots of fun
to draw. But there didn’t seem to be a good ending for
Tony’s real story.
Just then, the four kids heard loud voices coming
from nearby. A circle of yelling kids had formed near
the street. In its center, a big kid danced around like
a boxer. He made hard, jabbing motions at a smaller
kid. The smaller kid couldn’t get away because he was
trapped inside the circle. “Scaredy Cat, Scaredy Cat,”
yelled all the other kids.
“It’s Tony and that big, mean kid,” said Margaret.
“I was right about Tony and his problem. He should
have told a grownup what was going on.”

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 “But he did that,” put in Sue. “He told his teacher,
but she couldn’t just take his word over the other
boy’s.”
“Then he needed to tell someone else,” said
Margaret. “He shouldn’t have worried about kids
calling him names.”
“I think he should act brave even if he’s really
scared,” said Mike. “Now, just about everyone is
calling him names.”
Just then, Joe noticed an open place in the circle.
Two of the yelling kids had moved away from each
other. Tony spotted the open place, too, and made his
escape. Away he ran between the two kids.
Without stopping to look around, he ran into the
street. Then he stopped, right in the path of a school
bus. The bus’s horn blared, and its tires squealed on
the pavement. Teachers dropped their whistles and
came on the run.

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 “Nobody even touched the kid,” the mean boy told
the teachers. “I don’t know what made him run away
like that.” One teacher looked at Tony, but he didn’t
say a word. His shoulders sagged, and he stared at the
ground.
“Wow!” said Mike as the teacher led Tony away. “I
think we have one more job for Wonder Kid. How will
he solve a problem like this one, Joe?”
Joe didn’t answer, for he was lost in thought. It was
fun to draw Plunkett Street adventures for Wonder Kid.
It was interesting to hear everyone’s ideas about how
Tony could help himself. But today, the problems didn’t
seem so easy to solve. It was true that no one had hurt
him or even touched Tony. But he had been scared
enough to run into
traffic. Something
different had to
be done to help
him.
“This isn’t a
job for Wonder
Kid,” Joe told
Mike. “This time,
it’s a job for Joe
Martin.”
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 Chapter Six
A Real Hero
The next day, Joe took his collection of Wonder
Kid stories to school. When the bell rang, he didn’t go
straight to his classroom. Instead, he visited Principal
Barber in her office. “I have something important to talk
about,” he said. “I have some cartoon drawings to show
you, too.”
Then Joe told about everything that had happened
to Tony. He used his cartoons to help him remember
details. Mrs. Barber listened carefully to all that he
said. She looked at each page of his cartoon folder.
Sometimes she smiled at the things Wonder Kid did. But
most of the time, her face was serious. She promised to
do something to help little Tony.
Then she said, “Wonder Kid is a great make-
believe hero. But Plunkett Street’s true heroes are kids
like you, Joe. They care about other children, and they
do something to help. Sometimes kids think they should
mind their own business. They don’t remember that a
safe school is everyone’s business.”

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 “That gives me a good idea,” said Joe. “I know a
brand new job for Wonder Kid.”
After school, Joe went to work on a Wonder Kid
poster. He drew Wonder Kid with his chest puffed up
and his arm muscles bulging. At the top of the poster,
Joe wrote, BE A HERO LIKE WONDER KID. Then, in
smaller letters, he wrote, Tell what you see. Tell what
you hear. A safe school is everyone’s business.
“It’s perfect,” said Mrs. Barber when she saw the
finished poster. “I’ll hang it up where all the kids can
see it. But first, sign your name on it, Joe. You should
be proud of the work you do.”
Joe wrote his name in a corner of the poster. Mrs.
Barber was right. He was proud that he had created a
hero for Plunkett Street. He was prouder still to be one.

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 Talk About It  Discuss the following questions. Use examples
from the book to support responses.
• How did Joe help the students at his school?
• How can you help at your school?

Draw a Superhero  Create a superhero and make a poster

like Joe did at the end of the book. Think of a fun name and
creative costume. Then discuss with your friends and family
how the superhero and you can help make your school a
A Hero for Plunkett Street
safer place.
Story by Mary E. Furlong
Vocabulary  Practice these words by using them in
Illustrations by Maurie Manning sentences and talking about how they relate to this book.

ISBN: 978-0-7367-8785-7 deeds (p. 3) snatched (p. 13)

Copyright © Zaner-Bloser, Inc. fault (p. 4) squinting (p. 15)

snarled (p. 7) wobbled (p. 19)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, details (p. 8) jabbing (p. 20)
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the Publisher. The Publisher has made every effort to trace the conversation (p. 11) sagged (p. 22)
ownership of all copyrighted material and to secure the necessary permissions to
reprint these selections. In the event of any question arising as to the use of any
material, the Publisher, while expressing regret for any inadvertent error, will be
happy to make any necessary corrections.

Zaner-Bloser, Inc., P.O. Box 16764, Columbus, Ohio 43216-6764

1-800-421-3018, www.zaner-bloser.com

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 (25160) 5 4 3 2 1

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 Level N
Fiction
A Hero for
Pursuing Our Dreams
Plunkett Street

Leveled Library

1-800-421-3018 90000
www.zaner-bloser.com

PRINTED IN THE USA

9 780736 787857
Story by Mary E. Furlong
Illustrations by Maurie Manning

VR_3_LL_SA_N_1_Cvr_87857.indd 1 12/7/10 10:53:52 AM