Written by David Novell – Orangie was really excited to get to go over to Bobby G.’s house after school. He’d gotten to go once before, and Orangie and Bobby always had fun playing, plus Bobby’s father was a doctor and they had an amazing house, with wall-to-wall carpeting, fancy draperies on the windows, a living room that no one ...

Written by David Novell – All the 3rd grade kids knew that Alice smelled bad. Everyone would always jockey for position in line to avoid having to stand near her. Until one day Bobby G. stood up for her – right to Orangie’s face – and said (so that Alice and the other kids nearby could hear), “I’m not afraid ...

Written by David Novell – By far the most beautiful girl at Orangie’s school – Polk Elementary – was Diane Harrrison, whose soft brown shiny hair, dimpled smile, and big blue eyes made Orangie go sort of crazy whenever he was around her. In fact, she was so beautiful that Orangie had never yet been able to speak one single ...

Written by David Novell – Orangie and Butch were having breakfast together one morning at Butch’s house, in the little nook off the kitchen, enjoying some incredibly delicious waffles that Butch’s mother had made. The boys had slathered them with real butter and homemade plum jelly, as had become the custom whenever they ate at Butch’s. Orangie had never heard ...

Written by David Novell – Orangie arranged Teddy, Kitty Kazoo, the Pandas, Webster Webfoot, Sammy the Squirrel and all the other stuffed animals that he and Butch possessed between them — twenty-three in all — in the red wagon that was tied to Butch’s tricycle for a monumental trip the boys had planned. Orangie had felt compelled to do a ...

Written by David Novell – Orangie woke up early, even though it was summer and he could sleep in if he wanted to. Today was Sunday, and the house was quiet except for the sound of his dad’s electric percolator making coffee and the occasional rustle of the morning paper’s pages being turned. And then he remembered! His best friend ...

Written by David Novell – The sky was deep blue as Orangie walked out onto the sidewalk, a big paper bag in each arm. He found himself whistling “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino, including all the background stuff after each melody line, which is part of what made it such a cool song. Orangie’s very first record that was his ...

Written by David Novell – Orangie stuffed the shopping list into his back pocket, not particularly thrilled with the idea of doing the grocery shopping for his household, which of course was not much of a household, consisting of only him and his dad nowadays. But still, it wasn’t all that much fun having just a few bucks to get ...