Hoot

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: Chad Lowe

Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

ALA Notable Children's Book, 2003

Arizona Young Readers Award, 2005

Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2005

Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award, 2005

Iowa Teen Book Award, 2005

Kentucky Bluegrass Master List, 2004

Maine Student Book Master List, 2003

Massachusetts Children's Book Award, 2004

Minnesota Maud Heart Lovelace Award, 2005

Newbery Honor Book, 2003

Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award, 2003

Texas Lone Star Reading List, 2003

This Newbery Honor winner and #1 New York Times bestseller is a beloved modern classic. Hoot features a new kid and his new bully, alligators, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes.

Everybody loves Mother Paula's pancakes. Everybody, that is, except the colony of cute but endangered owls that live on the building site of the new restaurant. Can the awkward new kid and his feral friend prank the pancake people out of town? Or is the owls' fate cemented in pancake batter?

Welcome to Carl Hiaasen's Florida—where the creatures are wild and the people are wilder!

©2002 Carl Hiaasen (P)2002 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, An Imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

“It seems unlikely that the master of noir-tinged, surrealistic black humor would write a novel for young readers. And yet, there has always been something delightfully juvenile about Hiaasen’s imagination; beneath the bent cynicism lurks a distinctly 12-year-old cackle. In this thoroughly engaging tale of how middle schooler Roy Eberhardt, new kid in Coconut Cove, learns to love South Florida, Hiaasen lets his inner kid run rampant, both the subversive side that loves to see grown-ups make fools of themselves and the righteously indignant side, appalled at the mess being made of our planet. The story is full of offbeat humor, buffoonish yet charming supporting characters, and genuinely touching scenes of children enjoying the wildness of nature. He deserves a warm welcome into children’s publishing.”—Booklist

“A wonderful tour-de-force.”—The Boston Globe

“A rollicking, righteous story.”—The Miami Herald

I love this book.

I thought this was a fantastic book, with lots of excitement and adventure. Thanks to the author.

Great for the whole family!

Our family of two adults and a 12 year old girl listened to this book while on a road trip. We loved it! It kept us all entertained! Every time we got back in the car my 12 yo would ask to turn the book back on. At one point, we had a discussion about each of our predictions on how it will end. It really got us talking.

Chad Lowe did a great job reading the story as well. We are excited to move on to another Carl Hiassen book together!

the audio chapters were off

The book itself was good. The audio was off from the chapters. Fix that and it will be great

Attention getter

You just are compelled to pay attention so knit to miss all the subtle humor. Even when you are just listening to the story you will laugh out load at his comments and dialogue. Even the bad guys are such fun to laugh at.

Great

This book is like me in 3rd Grade! Wow! I am surprised for that! :D

children's book!!

this is a children's book. 8 ~15 year Olds would probably enjoy depending on their level of maturity.

it's a great book

good book I notice that Carl hiasen likes animals just like chomp scat and flush

Ugh

Y is it only 8 chapters ... That's so dumb I need the whole book audio

Good for kids and adults alike

What made the experience of listening to Hoot the most enjoyable?

The narrator has an easy-to-listen-to voice, though not a lot of emphasis on distinguishing between characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mullet Fingers was my favourite, because he is a determined mystery.

What about Chad Lowe’s performance did you like?

Clear sarcasm and conviction in the storyline.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Actually, no. It's quite realistic and I needed short breaks from reality.

Any additional comments?

A great book by Carl Hiassen for readers that prefer a real taste of reality. If you've read his adult titles you will find this one completely non-sexual, but still full of wit and sarcasm. It's definitely a

Hoot

It was a very nice story. The build up was a bit drawn out though.