I know what you’re thinking. Hoot? Are you serious? That book is lik
e seven years old! Ms. Ryan is just getting around to reading it? And my answer, sadly, is yes; after receiving dozens of recommendations, I finally listened to Hoot this weekend, on CD, in my car. Last spring, I read Scat, which was brand new at the time. That’s right, I didn’t let the dust settle on that one.
Both novels, as some of you know, are funny, are set in Florida, and feature middle-school kids going up against big, bad corporations in the name of endangered animals. Here’s a fact. I liked Scat so much that I drove down to Southern Florida this summer and visited the Everglades. It was just as wild and weird and beautiful as Hiaasen promised. Wow. (Photos of the trip available for interested readers.)
In Scat, the animal in danger is the Florida Panther; in Hoot, it’s the Burrowing Owl. Some other characters you will encounter on the pages of these uproarious books: a barefoot running boy, a fake-fart champion, a scary Science teacher with a collection of real stuffed animals, a boy who snacks on pencils, a pancake house spokeswoman, several renegade eco-activitsts, and a few regular kids to whom you might actually relate.
Seriously, don’t wait seven years. Give these a try
MMS Reading Listmania! 
M.A.E.B.A. said,
October 12, 2009 at 7:29 pm
i luvvvvvvv hoot but i dont like cats so i nvr bothered 2 try 2 read tht othr bk
A.J said,
October 26, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I read Scat over the summer and found it very good. I was randomly choosing books for summer reading and decided to choose this one and it turned out great! The ending turned out very different than I thought it would be!
Colin H. said,
November 19, 2009 at 4:40 pm
I read Hoot last year, and i thought it was excellent! I thought Hoot was so good, so I checked Scat out. I read Scat and it wasn’t that good. It didn’t compare to Hoot.
Sarah R said,
June 2, 2011 at 12:28 am
I read Scat last year and i honestly thought that it was a great book. Because of Carl Hiaasen having Florida panther’s in danger, it truely just adds onto the suspense in the book of trying to keep them saved. I didn’t know if I’d like the book at first but once i read the first chapter I was immediately hooked. Carl Hiaasen did a really good job making the book funny, having the main charecter be in a grade that most readers are in (so readers have an easier time making connections), and also making the book intriguing.
-Sarah R
Period 1
Purple Team