Do You Give a Hoot?

Roy Eberhardt has just moved from Montana to a new town in Florida. Being the new kid isn’t easy, especially when the school bully, Dana, has it out for him. When Dana smashes Roy’s face up against the bus window, his world changes. He sees something that makes him curious, and he tries to figure out what happened when he saw a boy running barefoot out of the woods. After he meets Beatrice, a bully beater, he learns that not only is there someone who will stand up to bullies, but he learns about the tiny burrowing owl. Unfortunately, developers are coming in to build on some land and the burrowing owls will be buried alive. Roy isn’t the only one who isn’t happy with this development. Someone is spray painting graffiti and causing havoc on the construction site. Soon, Roy is walking the line between breaking the law and doing what he knows needs to be done to conserve the owls’ habitat. Who is vandalizing the construction site? Will the vandals get caught? Is there any way a group of kids can get a corporation to back down? Will the burrowing owls be saved? Come along on this environmental journey as Roy learns how our actions can have an impact!

I recommend this book to people from fourth grade through adulthood. Being kind to our planet has always been important to me. Roy is a kid that I could easily relate to because he has a great sense of humor, and I love his passion for wanting to conserve the habitat of the burrowing owl. I don’t like to see animals endangered, people littering, or nature being destroyed. The characters in the book are quirky and add a lot of interest to the story. I especially like when someone can put a bully in their place! This was a fast read and I wasn’t sure how everything was going to turn out in the end, which kept me turning the pages. This would be a wonderful book for kids to read with parents or teachers so that they could think of ways of helping our planet. I noticed that Carl Hiaasen has other books for kids that look like they deal with the environment too: Flush, Scat, and Chomp. I look forward to checking them out soon! Of course, I will also have to check out the movie Hoot, since I haven’t seen it. Don't miss this exciting adventure- you will be inspired to make a difference in the world.

Has anyone else read Hoot? Or have you read another book by Carl Hiaasen? We would love to hear your thoughts.

Happy reading! ~L