12. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Audio Book)

HOOT by Carl Hiaasen (Listening Library, 2002)

Audio Book read by Chad Lowe

GENRE: Contemporary

HONORS: ABC Children’s Booksellers Choices Award, Golden Archer Award, John Newbery Medal Honor Book, Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award, Nutmeg Children’s Book Award, Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award, Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award, SEBA Book Award, White Ravens Award

REVIEW:

Used to moving from town to town, Roy Eberhardt knows what it’s like to be the new kid in school.  However, he loved his last home in Montana, making the move to Coconut Cove, Florida even worse.  Well, that and the biggest bully, Dana Matherson, makes it his mission to torture Roy every day on the school bus.  On one of these trips, Dana presses Roy’s face up against the bus window when Roy spots a boy running down the street with no shoes on.  Finally noticing some excitement in the sleepy town, Roy leaps out of the bus and follows him.  Over time, Roy becomes friends with the boy, known only as Mullet Fingers, and his tough sister, Beatrice.  Together they try to save an environmentally protected colony of burrowing owls whose homes are on the construction site of a Mother Paula’s All-American Pancake House, sabotaging the equipment and setting poisonous snakes loose.  When the company plans to go ahead with their groundbreaking ceremony, Roy and his friends must find a way to bring their injustices to light.

OPINION:

This audio book was a pleasure to listen to on my drive to and from work.  Although I know that the book is just as wonderful, I can advocate for the audio book and Chad Lowe great performance in voicing so many different characters.  There have been some audio books that I had a difficult time distinguishing between the characters on sound alone, but Chad Lowe is able to give unique accents to the characters.  The book itself is also a fun read with its mixture of mystery, suspense, and humor, turning a story about saving wildlife into an exciting tale about three children standing up to big business and fighting for what they believe in.  Also, Hiaasen has developed a unique bunch of characters that will stick with readers long after they finish the book.  Many tweens will identify with Roy and take pleasure in Mullet Fingers’ rejection of expectations and brave spirit.

IDEAS:

The book and audio book would both work in a library display about Newbery Honor books.  They would also be perfect for displays about environmental issues and realistic tween heroes.