 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Hoot
- By Carl Hiaasen
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Common Sense Media says
Award-winning tale is surprisingly uninventive.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there is some mild violence and swearing here, and that, while the adults are mostly portrayed negatively, the heroes don't always behave honestly either.
What's the story?
Roy is the new kid in school, and is already being picked on by the school bully, Dana. But one day, while having his face mashed against the bus window, he sees a mysterious barefoot boy running away from the bus and school. Roy tracks him down and discovers, among other things that the boy, who calls himself Mullet Fingers, is committing acts of vandalism against a construction site where they plan to build a pancake restaurant on a site where rare and endangered burrowing owls are nesting.
Meanwhile, in dealing with Dana, Roy finds that getting the better of him only seems to make him more dangerous. Fortunately he finds an ally in Beatrice, Mullet Finger's stepsister, who's even tougher than Dana. And Mullet's pranks, rather than discouraging the foreman of the construction crew, seems to be making him more dangerous as well.
Is it any good?
It's harder to write great children's literature than you might think. Carl Hiaasen may be a superb adult author, but in his first foray into children's books, he's pretty much painting by numbers. Let's see ... lots of stupid and venal adults, check. Cute animals, check. Kid hero on his own, tough girl with heart of gold, check, check. Mean bully, check. Fart jokes, check. Evil corporation, check. Stupid adults won over by cute animals and plucky kid heroes, check. Yup, it's all here. So why doesn't it add up to more?
Despite all that, and an ending that will be a little too Huck Finn for some readers' tastes, HOOT is a modestly involving story with likable enough characters, and it occasionally manages the stirring of an emotion of two. Parents will also appreciate that, among all the usual bumbling and venal adults, Roy's parents stand out as caring, concerned, intelligent, and ultimately supportive. In another example of the Newbery Committee's unfathomable criteria, Hoot was selected as an Honor Book for 2003.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the issues raised here concerning the conflict between environmental and economic concerns. How should we balance our human needs with those of the natural world?
What do you think about the ways in which the characters behaved in
order to protect the owls? Was it realistic?What would you have done?
Families who also see the movie may want to compare and contrast the
two.Which version do you like better? What would you have done
differently?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
Great book
I read it with my twins, they LOVED it! There was some language... But, overall, I reccomend it.
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AGE
Language is iffy, but great message!
Well,2 years ago, my whole class in 5th grade read this book, and it was really good. Parents, there are a few swear words in this book, which I don't think were needed. But anyway, this book is about a kid named Roy who moves to a new school and he and his friends, "Mullet Fingers" and Beatrice, help him save some owls from getting their homes taken away from them. The book is interesting, and it has a great message and ending.
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AGE
Hoot book Review by Kyle Hagen
This book is excellent for kids and adults to read. It's funny appropriate and not sexually inappropriate. It says something about our environment in a general casual way. I love the way that Carl Hiaason wrote the POV of the characters.
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Kid, 12 years old
January 31, 2011
AGE
I think that the book hoot is telling you that you shouldn't kill nature or people will find out and do something to you
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Kid, 12 years old
January 11, 2011
AGE
It is a "good" book! I love all of CaRL hIAASENS books I would defitlently recommend this to your kids even you should read (10+)
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AGE
HOOT IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!
OMG best book I have ever EVER read!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please read!!!!!!!!!!! If you don't you will never find a good book again! Just saying!
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AGE
Too Much Language
I thought the book was pretty good, but I stopped reading it because I thought there was too much language.
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AGE
not the best
i thought it was amazing but not the best book i've ever read
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| Author: | Carl Hiaasen |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Contemporary Fiction |
| Publisher: | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Publication date: | May 1, 2006 |
| Number of pages: | 292 |
| Hardcover price: | $15.95 |
| Paperback price: | $8.95 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
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