HOOT

by Carl Hiaasen (4th+)

Roy Eberhardt doesn’t give a “hoot” about living in his new home state of Florida. His family moves often, so he’s used to being the new kid in school, but this time is different. He misses his last home in Montana and isn’t interested in anything in Florida until he sees “the boy at the school bus stop.” The boy that catches Roy’s attention is just a typical boy about his own age. What’s different about him is that he’s running away from the school bus instead of towards it. Plus, the boy has no books, no backpack, and even no shoes. Roy is intrigued by the mystery surrounding the boy, so he starts to follow him. In his chase to find out about the secretive stranger, Roy encounters poisonous snakes with sparkles on their tails, alligators in toilets, a girl who bites a hole in his bicycle tire, burrowing owls, and trouble with the police. Will Roy ever find out who the mysterious boy is and what he’s up to? Does Roy ever learn to enjoy living in Florida? Find out by reading Hoot by Carl Hiaasen.