Richie's Picks: Great Books for Children and Young Adults

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My eyes are a little bit moist after having just finished HOOT by Carl Hiaasen.  As I write this, I'm perched upon the royal blue carpeting between two of the dividers that stretch the length of a football field and herd us slowly in the direction of Jean Auel.  Jean is sitting on a stool behind a table just beyond the goal line.  I arrived here at the Javits Convention Center around 6:15 this morning--that's 3:15 A.M. California time, my body reminds me--in order to obtain one of the relatively limited tickets that allow entrance to this line for the purpose of receiving a smile and a signed copy of the new book from Ms. Auel.  David Halberstam's line will be my next stop.  But at the moment I am feeling like my best literary score of the day is the additional advance copy of HOOT that my friends at Random House are graciously permitting me to take back to California.  Now, I can lend out a copy (first to my faithful webmaster) and keep another to eventually put away in my collection of the really good ones.

Yes, HOOT is one that you'll want for your collection, too.

I was just about to say that I can't wait to get home and start reading HOOT to my kids and Shari, but that wouldn't be particularly true.  Thanks to another publisher friend, I am going to see Dee Dee Ramone and the Tom Tom Club perform at a party tonight, so frankly I CAN wait a little while to get back to California.  But when I DO get there, you can be sure that I'm immediately sitting everyone down to share this great tale.

First, you have the owls:

"Walking back toward the patrol car, the policeman stumbled and fell down.  Curley grabbed him under one arm and hoisted him to his feet.
'Stupid owls,' said Curley.
The policeman brushed the dirt and grass burrs off his uniform.  'You say owls?'
Curley gestured at a hole in the ground.  It was as big around as one of Mother Paula's famous buttermilk flapjacks.  A mound of loose white sand was visible at the entrance.
'That's what you tripped over,' Curley informed Officer Delinko.
'An owl lives down there?'  The policeman bent down and studied the hole.  'How big are they?'
''Bout as tall as a beer can.'
'No kidding?' said Officer Delinko.
'But I ain't never seen one, officially speakin.'"

Then, you've got the bully:

"The grip on his throat tightened.  He felt Dana's ashtray breath on his right ear: 'How come you ain't got your boots on today?  Who ever heard of a cowgirl wearing Air Jordans?'
'They're Rebocks,' Roy squeaked."

Now, throw in the mystery kid (whose first appearances are reminiscent of Maniac Magee):

"The boy was straw-blond and wiry, and his skin was nut-brown from the sun.  The expression on his face was intent and serious.  He wore a faded Miami Heat basketball jersey and dirty khaki shorts, and here was the odd part: no shoes.  The soles of his bare feet looked as black as barbecue coals...Because the boy kept running--past the corner, past the line of students waiting to get on the bus; past the bus itself.  Roy wanted to shout, 'Hey look at that guy!' but his mouth wasn't working so well.  Dana Matherson still had him from behind, pushing his face against the window."

Add in the seriously evil PR guy from the pancake house chain, the tough girl soccer star, the assortment of parents with widely varying skill levels, and the bumbling young cop.  Then drop Roy, the new kid in town, into the middle of everything and you have the recipe for a book that will enchant kids of all ages.  There is humor, sadness, and a touch of suspense. 

What WILL happen to the owls in those holes?

In HOOT, Carl Hiaasen does an incredible job of showing the different styles of activism that different people resort to.  He presents the reader with the contemporary clash of free enterprise versus global ecological issues.  He has a lot to say between the lines about parenting, and he has some great insights into the methods of dealing with bullies. 

I've never read his adult books, but I sure hope Hiaasen writes more children's books for my kids.  HOOT is a heck of a first step into the world of children's literature.

Richie Partington
http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com