Roy Eberhardt has recently, and unhappily, arrived in
Florida. "Disney World is an armpit," he states flatly, "compared to
Montana."
Roy's family moves a lot, so he's used to the new-kid
drill. Florida bullies are pretty much like bullies everywhere. But Roy
finds himself oddly indebted to the hulking Dana Matherson. If Dana hadn't
been sinking his thumbs into Roy's temples and mashing his face against the
school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the
running boy is the first interesting thing Roy's seen in Florida.
The boy was about Roy's age, but he was running away
from the school bus. He had no books, no backpack, and, here's the odd part,
no shoes.
Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's
trail. The chase will introduce him to some other intriguing Floridian
creatures: potty-trained alligators, a beleaguered construction foreman,
some burrowing owls, a fake-fart champion, a renegade eco-avenger, some
slippery fish, a sinister pancake PR man, and several extremely poisonous
snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails. Life in Florida is looking up.
Carl Hiaasen has been writing about Florida since his
father gave him a typewriter at age six. Then it was hunt-and-peck stories
about neighborhood kickball and softball games, given away to his friends.
Now Hiaasen writes columns for the Miami Herald and is the author of many
best-selling novels for adults, including Sick Puppy and Basket
Case.
Hoot, Hiaasen's first novel for young readers,
is full of his trademark satirical wit, revealing the good, the bad, and the
screwy state of Florida.
Steps in WebQuest
1. Read the book summary.
2. Search the hot sites and
consider the story themes, events and characters.
3. Answer the questions in the quiz
by creating a word document.
4. Visit the rubric to see
the grading schedule.
Email the
WebQuest's author, Joy Thornburn |