Hoot

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Roy Eberhardt is the new kid--again. This time around it's Trace Middle School in humid Coconut Grove, Florida. But it's still the same old routine: table by himself at lunch, no real friends, and thick-headed bullies like Dana Matherson pushing him around. But if it wasn't for Dana Matherson mashing his face against the school bus window that one day, he might never have seen the tow-headed running boy. And if he had never seen the running boy, he might never have met tall, tough, bully-beating Beatrice. And if he had never met Beatrice, he might never have discovered the burrowing owls living in the lot on the corner of East Oriole Avenue. And if he had never discovered the owls, he probably would have missed out on the adventure of a lifetime. Apparently, bullies do serve a greater purpose in the scope of the universe. Because if it wasn't for Dana Matherson...

In his first novel for a younger audience, Carl Hiaasen (Basket Case, etc.) plunges readers right into the middle of an ecological mystery, made up of endangered miniature owls, the Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House scheduled to be built over their burrows, and the owls' unlikely allies--three middle school kids determined to beat the screwed-up adult system. Hiaasen's tongue is firmly in cheek as he successfully cuts his slapstick sense of humor down to kid-size. Sure to be a hoot, er, hit with middle school mystery fans. (Ages 10 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

Unfortunately, Roy’s first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, 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 intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and–here’s the odd part–wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy’s trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.
Roy has most definitely arrived in Carl Hiaasen’s Florida.

From the Hardcover edition.

Download Description

2003 Newbery Honor Winner!

Unfortunately, Roy's first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, 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 intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and -- here's the odd part -- wore no shoes.

Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.

Roy has most definitely arrived in Carl Hiaasen's Florida.

WINNER OF THE 2002 Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) CHOICES AWARD!

Customer Reviews:

Owls Rock!.......2007-07-23

I loved this book! It was about kids saving endangered owls and I love wildlife and nature. The characters were interesting and funny; sometimes sarcastic, except for Roy. The plot was interesting and well-developed. I learned a little bit about Florida which I did not know before. This book made me want to visit Florida and it made me want to save endangered animals. It made me realize that kids can save endangered animals and make a difference in the world. I highly recommend this book; I think most kids would love this book.

so far.......2007-07-14

I've read three books this summer. My grandmother is paying me a dollar for every book I read so I'm not bragging. The first two weren't like work at all, but this one almost is. I thought it would be more adventerous. That's the kind of book I really like. For everybody who likes more adventer, adventuer / \ excitment, I think they should read The Misadventures of Maude March, and if they are a boy, they will like The Voyage of the Frog.

An Inspiring Book.......2007-06-04

I have recently read the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. Have you ever felt left out, or have you felt like your not where you're supposed to be? This is how Roy Eberhardt, a teenage boy from Montana, feels after moving to Florida. Roy investigates a mystery of the boy running with no shoes on, while he tries to save an owl species. Will life in Florida be looking up for Roy?
The theme or lesson of this book I think was to not let things get in your way. Hoot was very inspiring and it makes you want to help animals in your community. Also, you can literally feel yourself as if you were a character in the setting. I'd advise you to read Hoot because I know you'll love it.

A great book but I liked the Tommytown series better.......2007-06-01

I thought this was a great book, but not as good as the Tommytown series. In Tommytown the boys 11 -14 and the girl, Karen 14 years old acted more like their age and the scenes where funny and exciting. But both writers are super! Take a look at Tommytown and The Boys From Tommytown , (I actually did it. I inserted the titles) Anyway you won't be sorry.

give a Hoot about this book:0.......2007-05-22

I thought that this book by Carl Hiaasen was great! This was a very inspirational book about a boy named Roy who moves to Coconut Cove, Florida. He faces many problems like a bully named Dana Matherson, and he meets a girl Beatrice, and her mal treated step- brother. Together the kids try to save mini owls who were going to get hurt, or killed by a building company that was building a new Mother Paula's Pancake House. I would reccomend this book to any one, but especially animal lovers. It is a great novel just like Carl Hiaasens other novels.

Who Really Killed Cock Robin? (Eco Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

Still a classic of environmental fiction
who really killed cock robin
Excellent Book for Kids
This is the worst book EVER!!!!!
An Eco-Mystery

Who Really Killed Cock Robin? (Eco Mysteries)
Jean Craighead George
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ecology | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0064404056

Book Description

Citizens of Saddleboro are proud to say that theirs is the cleanest town around. So they can't ignore the mysterious death of their mascot, Cock Robin. Some people would like to blame the citizens themselves, but one boy-Tony Isidoro -- suspects there's more to the story.

Tony threads his way through a maze of clues: Among other things, the town park is overrun with trillions of ants; nights are quiet because there are no frogs singing; the nearby river contains a dangerous amount of an unknown chemical; and the town dump is emitting strange fumes. What does it all add UP to? It's an eco mystery all right, and it's up to Tony to figure out who really killed Cock Robin.

Customer Reviews:

Still a classic of environmental fiction.......2007-09-25

This was one of my favorite library books as a child, and it's really a very cool book for any child who wants to understand how ecology works. The death of the mascot of a small Massachusetts college town becomes a cause celebre as two interested schoolchildren and a graduate student from the local university trace the impact of human activity on the local environment, discovering hidden damage in many corners of the town from fertilizers, pesticides, industrial toxins, and other pollutants and try to track what effect it had on Cock Robin, his mate, and their mostly-failed clutch of eggs. After the book has done an effective job of illustrating how local effects can have wide-ranging consequences, the town takes a turn towards greenness in Cock Robin's memory; however, a twist ending reveals a hidden variable that shows just how far humans have to go to truly understand the world they live in.

The book takes an interesting position that is absent from much ecological literature written for adults -- it's important to be aware of and mitigate your footprint on the environment, but that fanaticism and snap judgements, even in the defense of the environment, are counterproductive, a message that is perhaps a bit too subtle over three decades later in a world of black-and-white politics ruled more by emotion and prejudice than reasoned responses. The need for a measured response even in the face of immediate danger is lost on many in the hard green movement, even as the opponents of environmentalism deny that there is a problem in the first place. Who Killed Cock Robin? makes this point quite eloquently. There should be more books like this for children.

Incidentally, if you happen to enjoy this book, Gary Larson's gloriously twisted There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story is a nice followup, like WRKCR? offering proof that the idea of "the interconnectedness of all things" is a physical reality, not just spiritual fluff spouted by New Agers.

who really killed cock robin.......2007-09-24

It is a good eco mystery and it was very exciting, my granchild said. It was part of her school assignment.

Excellent Book for Kids.......2006-01-06

This is not only a compelling story, but helps encourage environmental awareness amongst kids. I bought it for my son on a whim and he absolutely devoured it. The characters are believably independent and I really appreciated their investigative styles. Kids need to think for themselves and this is a sweet, lively book that encourages such thinking with some very positive results. I highly recommend it.

This is the worst book EVER!!!!!.......2005-10-19

i was assigned to read this in 5th grade and i'm still trying to forget the book! if there was a button for -10 star s i would choose that. this book is cheaper than the match i used to burn it with!!! Do Not read this!!

An Eco-Mystery.......2001-03-18

Environmentalist, ecologist, naturalist, and writer Jean Craighead George, the Rachel Carson for children, will win her audiences once again with this story. The plot revolves around Tony Isidoro, a young biologist who is bent on solving the mystery of the death of his hometown's feathered mascot, Cock Robin. As he uncovers assorted clues strung throughout the town--chemical activity, sudden loss of frogs and birds--Tony must try to convince his naive neighbors that not just one thing is responsible for the bird's death, but many imbalances in the town's ecosystem, which everyone is convinced is the cleanest around. Since it's an eco-mystery, the story is grippingly told in the style of a crime investigation. From the beginning you want to know Who Really Killed Cock Robin: "Cock Robin lay on his back with his feet in the air. . .It was seven minutes past six A.M. on the twenty-fourth day of May. He was dead." There are endless possiblities for the cause of the bird's death, and at times it's a bit unrealistic when Tony immediately dismisses some types of poisons and investigates others. Younger kids may have no idea what DDT, PCB, and 2,4,5-T are, though the author does try to explain them. However, the story, the dedication--"To sunshine, clear water, and sparkling skies and to the kids who are cleaning up the Earth"--and Ms. George's supportive Author's Note in the new paperback version will surely inspire kids to clean up their environment and veer away from the use of harmful, chemical-containing products. If one enjoys this Eco-Mystery, check out the others in the series--THE CASE OF THE MISSING CUTTHROATS; THE FIRE BUG CONNECTION; and THE MISSING 'GATOR OF GUMBO LIMBO. Don't forget Jean Craighead George's eighty or so other remarkable stories--the Julie of the Wolves books, the My Side of the Mountain trilogy, the One Day series. . .the list goes on and on. Each book will deepen readers' respect for nature and our beautiful but threatened planet.

Average customer rating:

great book
An ok book
Lostman's River
A great children's book
A review from Megan!

Lostman's River
Cynthia DeFelice
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380723964

Book Description

Danger Stalks the Swampland

Lostman's River is home to Tyler MacCauley and his family, just as it is to thousands of birds and other wildlife that share Nature's piece of the Earth.

But greed and profit have brought great danger into the swampland. And when Tyler and his family dare to trust a stranger, they find out, to their horror, that they have jeopardized not only the land and all who live there, but their own future as well.

Customer Reviews:

great book.......2003-02-13

This is the second book Ive read by DeFelice,and although I liked Weasel, This book was even better. Tyler and his family live on this river in Fla. Tyler likes the simplicties this life has brought. One day a stranger arrives and basicly tricks Tyler and his family to expose a exotic bird rookery. The stranger ended up being a poacher. Others arrive while Tyler and the stranger are at the rookery, and a deadly confrontation takes place. Tyler then has to get out alive and must decide how to deal with the events that have taken place. There are no simple answers to these questions, and the book does not have a happy ending, but a realistic one. Great story for young and old alike!!

An ok book.......2001-05-24

My book was Lostman's River. The author is Cynthia Defelice. The main caricature is Tyler MacCuley how was hiered by a man ro be his guide. But somthing goes teribly wrong. If you want to find out read this your self.It is a good book for 5th graders.

Lostman's River.......2001-03-07

This is an excellent book. Lostman's River will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end of the story. Why are Tyler, Carrie, Mama and Papa in Florida? Why did they leave New York in the first place? These are all questions that will be answered when you read the story. The MacCauley's or shall I say the McLeod's haven't had any visitors in many years. Why are they all of a sudden recieving so many visitors now? All of these questions and many many more that will spur in your mind will be answered i f you decide to read this book. Cynthia DeFelice is an excellent writer who knows how to bring imagery and emotions to life. She has written many novels and most of them have won awards. Weasel is another wonderful book byu Cynthia DeFelice.

A great children's book.......2001-01-04

I once met Cynthia in Buffalo, New York, when I was 9. After seeing her talk about her books, The topics she talked about were intresting. Then, my mom got me a book from her called "Lostman's River."This is a very good book if your intrested in wildlife or you just liked Weasel, which I liked too. It's hard for me to explain this book, because I haven't read it in 5 years, but it's on my bookshelf. Hope you like it!

A review from Megan!.......2000-11-29

Have you ever ran away from the law? Or ran away from someone? Well in this this book Pa is found sleeping next to a drunk, dead man? Thinking he might he thought of mudering the man he ran far far away with his wife and son. WHere did he run? To the place that is the best places of places to run to, Lostman's River. All of a sudden a man come offering Tyler the thirteen year old a job that payes him three dollars a day for 2 weeks. He gladly accepts and something terrible occurs while on the trip. Want to know what happens? Want to know how Tyler survives? Well, read this terrific book and you'll find out the conflict and the resolution.

Average customer rating:

How Think about the book.
What I Thought About Waterman's Boy
My Feelings About Waterman's Boy
My Opinion
My Feelings About Waterman's Boy

Waterman's Boy
Susan Sharpe
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

How Think about the book........2006-03-30

I think the story was cool.I like the part when Ben has Matt sleepover
so they could go fishing the next day and catch some big ones which
would mean catch a big fish. Ben's dad did not catch a fish that
day and he would give up but go back the next day and then usually
catch a fish that day he went .

What I Thought About Waterman's Boy.......2006-03-24

I thought it was really cool because Ben wanted to be just like his father and didn't want to go to college like his brother Eddie. His father told him he had to. Ben had a best friend whose name was Matt. Well, one day a scientist came to stay at his mother's Bed and Breakfast. His name was David Watchman. Matt and Ben were trying to make a boat because they needed to catch a crab for the Fair to be in a race that they enter every year. After they painted the boat, it sunk! David Watchmen took them on his boat and they caught a huge fat one! Then they named him Champ then they got entered in the contest but they didn't win. They got very sad, but then Ben got even more sad because Daid Watchmen and his father hated each other! David thought that watermen were ruining the water because there was oil in the water and watermen thought that scientists were ruining the water! Ben and Matt found a place that they had never had been before and every thing was dead and it was full of oil! They went to show the scientists and he got very sad and then he left him his phone number and he left. Next, Matt and Ben and went back to the dead place one night and fell asleep, but they woke up and caught the people who were doing the dumping oil. And then the next day he called the scientists and he called the police and then the next day his parents were very proud of him because he caught the people and then the scientists and the watermen became friends. Later the watermen asked his son what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said a scienists and his father said very good choice!

My Feelings About Waterman's Boy.......2006-03-24

My feelings about the book were very adventorus and thrilling.The things that made the book exciting were The Crab Festival, the boating
trips,and Matt and Ben finding the oil spill in the marsh in the harbor.
Those are my feelings about the book.

My Opinion .......2006-03-18

The book was not like other books. It was not like other books because you never knew what was going to happen. Like,when you thought the boat Ben and Matt built was going to float,it sunk. Also, because Matt found a boat in the water and it was random. If I were going to make a prediction, I would have been wrong about it.

My Feelings About Waterman's Boy.......2006-03-18

I thought the book was good. For one reason because I like the water and I like boating. The book was interesting and exciting when they found the dead part of the marsh and when they were hiding from the oil dumpers. But the begining was dull. I think it should be more exciting. I thought it started getting more exciting near chapter 10. But after a while I really liked it .

Average customer rating:

Great Book.
The book every child would love to have!

Backyard Detective: Critters Up Close

Manufacturer: Tangerine Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0439174783

Book Description

Welcome to the fascinating world of your own backyard, where more than 125 bugs, worms, and small critters play out the drama of life in miniature. Seven life-size backyard environments, from the soil, to the vegetable garden, to the air above, are vividly depicted in enticingly lush photographic scenes. Scenes are followed by informational spreads which identify all animals and relate intriguing facts about survival in each environment. Includes natural science projects, essential safety information, and an inviting "visual index" for easy reference.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book........2007-10-14

These books by this author are wonderful. The book has outdoor scenes and on the next page the author gives the name of the bug/animal. My kids love these books and so do I.

The book every child would love to have!.......2007-01-05

Bugs, kids, backyards what more could you ask for? well maybe the Backyard Detective to make the experince complete. If you are a Home school family its a must. Lots of color, pictures. This one is a real gift.

The Hunt for the Whooping Cranes: A Natural History Detective Story

Average customer rating:

A mystery story

The Hunt for the Whooping Cranes: A Natural History Detective Story
J. J. McCoy
Manufacturer: Paul S Eriksson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Endangered Species | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Birds | Field Guides | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

A mystery story.......2000-01-05

This book has everything- a mystery, a valiant search, a happy ending. It is the story of the search for the nesting site of the whooping crane. It took 17 years to find the site, the discovery of which assures the world that this site will not be destroyed and insures that these birds may survive the impact of an ever growing human population. We owe so much to these brave men who worked so hard to find where these glorious birds nested. The book is well written and illustrated.

Average customer rating:

NEW AGE, OLD TIMES
PSYCOPATHIC POLITICS

Martyr's Creek
David Chacko
Manufacturer: Foremost Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0978970438

Book Description

When your worst enemy makes you the executor of his estate, you don't expect an easy time. What James Pandolph discovers in settling Tom Powys' considerable estate is nothing compared to what is required settling the passions of his life. This includes neo-conservative politics at the highest level and the bodies that have fallen at every step along the way.

Customer Reviews:

NEW AGE, OLD TIMES.......2007-05-28

MARTYR'S CREEK is one of the most provocative books of the year. If you can imagine having a neo-con friend who is a really an enemy who names you the executor of his estate, you may be able to see how the book's story goes. The main character and narrator, a man everyone calls Panda, sorts through huge stacks of money, meets a flurry of old friends who are in every state of denial, until he finally comes to the mystery that drives everything in the book without anyone knowing it's there. Add to that a love resumed, the reclaiming of a lost son, and the righting of a university that was destroyed in the name of conservative doctrine, and you have David Chacko's thirteen book. One of these days someone will going to come up with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Novels. This is where they might start.

PSYCOPATHIC POLITICS.......2007-04-12

If you've ever suspected that the current state of American politics is a conspiracy, you'll love MARTYR'S CREEK. Something is rotten in the state of union, and it all begins with money and the way it corrupts. The neo-conservative movement, that group of brilliant and destructive academics and bureaucrats, is represented here in the figure of Tom Powys. He has died and named to administer his estate James Pandolph, who was once his best friend and is now his sworn enemy. Why would any man do something as perverse as that? You'll have to read the books to find out. It's hard to believe it's part of Powys' character in the beginning, but hard to forget by the end of the book. It's also enough to say that the reasons for the perversity and the novel's fantastic currents make sense once the story is told to the last page. And told very well. Chacko is as good a writer as there is in this country.

The Bloodwater Mysteries: Skullduggery (Bloodwater Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

Wonderful offering for Young Adult Mystery

The Bloodwater Mysteries: Skullduggery (Bloodwater Mysteries)
Pete Hautman , and Mary Logue
Manufacturer: Putnam Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 039924378X
Release Date: 2007-05-10

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful offering for Young Adult Mystery.......2007-06-05

This is the second in the Bloodwater mystery series, following Snatched. Hautman won the National Book Award in 2004 for his teen novel, Godless.

Roni Delicata, reporter for her high school newspaper, is taking a summer course in Regional Studies along with her younger friend Brian Bain, a science geek. They really do not have much in common, except for a penchant for mysteries. The class is studying the plants of the region, and Professor Bloom is taking them on a field trip to the swampy Bloodwater Bottoms to look for ladyslippers and skunk cabbage.

While hiking around with Brian (of course she is paired with geeky Brian, and not the handsome new student, Eric Bloodwater), they end up straying away from the smelly, muddy swamp, and up towards the bluff that is slated for development. They hear a very faint cry for help, and discover Dr. Andrew Dart, an archeologist from the local college, barely conscious in a cave, holding an old skull. He is sure that the bluff is an important Indian site, and gives Brian an ancient spear point and tells him to keep it safe--and the bulldozers must be stopped!

Roni and Brian decide to help, but they have only a few days. They try and ask questions at a public meeting, but to no avail. Dr. Dart is hospitalized and not making much sense, so he is no help at all. They decide to go back to the cave. Before they can get back in, it explodes and the entrance is sealed. They embark on a nighttime mission to get into the cave and find evidence using a second entrance, down a rope in a deep hole in the ground. Will they succeed? Who hit Dr. Dart and left him the cave, and is that person still around?

This book has it all--a great setting (Minnesota, along the Mississippi River), a resourceful and stroppy young reporter with a smart and witty sidekick, a scary mansion with secret passages, and small town summer life with bikes and Dairy Queens. I can hardly wait for the next in the series!

Two Minnesota mystery authors teamed up to give us a 4-star read.

Armchair Interviews says: If you love good Young Adult mysteries, this series if for you.

Average customer rating:

eco action novel!
right on
A Wild Read
A howling-good novel!

The Lobo Outback Funeral Home
Dave Foreman
Manufacturer: Johnson Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching

ASIN: 1555663397

Customer Reviews:

eco action novel!.......2006-01-21

Funny, horny, passionate, insightful and a damn good read!

Foreman gives testosterone a good name!

right on.......2001-09-14

Having moved to the New Mexico outback myself a few years ago with the notion that cowboys and ranchers were noble and strong caretakers of the land, I was shocked to learn about the whole public land multiple use system and what arrogant cretins the abusers of it really are. Dave Foreman has ripped the masks off every wise-use, militia belonging, united nations fearing, and custom-and-culture ranting local rural resident and revealed them for the ignorant, bombastic yahoos they really are. I hope I live long enough to someday hear the howl of a lobo here. This book let me dream that might someday come true.

A Wild Read.......2001-04-12

This was a wild read. Sex, romance, wilderness, wolves, good guys, bad guys, and a moral to the story. The story is about those who love the west and do battle to protect the land and its wildlife. Many of the characters and events are probably emulations from the author's own life that has been dedicated to the protection of wilderness and wildlife. If you want to gain a sense about why some people are willing to devote their lives to the wild then read this book. When you are done, choose your place to stand and defend.

A howling-good novel!.......2000-11-19

This is Earth First! founder, Dave Foreman's first novel. Set partly in New Mexico's Diablo National Forest and partly in southeastern Arizona, Foreman's natural descriptions read as if they were drawn from his own field notes. This story is as much about commitment to wild places as it is about survival.

Interestingly, Foreman's novel is similar to Barbara Kingsolver's current bestseller, PRODIGAL SUMMER (2000), in many respects. Both novels involve sensual love affairs that unfold in nature. Whereas Kingsolver's lovers, Deanna Wolfe (a forest ranger) and Eddie Bondo (a hunter) debate coyotes, Foreman's lovers, MaryAnne McClellen (a wildlife ecologist) and Jack Hunter (a burned-out, Sierra Club lobbyist) protect Mexican wolves. Like Deanna, MaryAnne understands: "If life in all its fecund, blooming, buzzing, beautiful diversity is to survive, we humans must find within ourselves the generosity of spirit and the greatness of heart to make room for the full flowering of other species and natural life processes" (p. 176). Kingsolver even lives in Tucson, where parts of Foreman's novel unfold.

Jack Hunter is a complicated character. No longer a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Hunter has become "a hard-drinking, sullen horseshoer in a backwater nowhere;" yet he remains "a man born to greatness" (p. 206). When confronted with Forest Service logging plans and saving the lobos, "Hunter knew he couldn't run any more," Foreman writes. "It was time to stick his spear in the ground and fight for home. He saw the grand cottonwoods and bouncy stream of Stowe Creek Meadow. He saw the tall ancient pines of Mondt Park. He saw the wolves of Davis Prairie. That was what was real. That was what was important. That was what made his life worth living . . . he would fight for it now. No matter what the cost" (p. 200).

Dave Forman has written a howling-good first novel which, like Kingsolver's, I recommend to those who share a love for wild places.

Book Description

Strong and open, fierce and funny GIRLS FIRST! is the bold and spirited new series for middle-grade readers that seeks to capture the independent spirit of girls and young women from all over the world. By publishing international novels, the series celebrates both the differences and commmonalities in the experiences of girls. By featuring strong female protagonists, GIRLS FIRST! Provides positive role models within exciting stories full of mystery and adventure.

From the heat of Chicago, Willa C. Lopez is heading to green, lush Seattle to spend the summer with her aunt Ceci, her aunt's partner Janie and multicultural, extended family. While there, precocious Willa and her curious cousin Tabby discover someone or something is polluting a local watershed. What follows is a take of new friendships, new discoveries and more adventure than they bargained for.

This funny and captivating mystery is the first for young readers by award-winning and acclaimed mystery writer Barbara Wilson (Case of the Orphaned Bassoonists, Trouble in Transylvania).

Customer Reviews:

rousing feminist multicultural detective story.......2005-10-19

Many points to the author for conveying a lot of ecological information in a believable mystery story, with credible adults and believable teenage behavior. I agree with the Booklist reviewer that the text is a bit didactic but this is not necessarily a handicap if environmental educators can subtly recommend it for their more reluctant students. And the multicultural elements are very strong--not many novels for teenagers do this good a job of integrating them.

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