40 Fun Facts About Hoot

In Hoot, what does Officer Delinko find splashing inside the portable toilets on the building site?

Alligators were swimming in the tanks, so a reptile wrangler had to be called to haul them out. The same visit turned up a flatbed with its tires let down and the survey stakes pulled up again.

In Hoot, how did the running boy Roy chases earn the nickname Mullet Fingers?

Catching fish bare-handed is his trick: he can snatch a slippery mullet straight out of the creek. Beatrice gave him the nickname, and his real name stays secret until the final chapter.

In Hoot, which state did Roy Eberhardt love most before his family moved to Florida?

Montana was Roy's favorite of all the places the family had lived, so that is where he told his new classmates he was from. He was actually born in Detroit.

In Hoot, what hits Roy above the ear and knocks him down as he chases the running boy?

A golf ball struck him after the chase spilled off the street and onto a course. Roy went down, and the mystery boy got away into the trees.

In Hoot, what does Mullet Fingers roll into tiny balls to tempt the owls out of their burrows?

Ground beef does the job: he sets the little meatballs beside the holes and a tiny owl comes out to eat. Roy's mother gave them the meat believing it was for a science project.

In Hoot, which nickname does the bully Dana Matherson give Roy because of where Roy used to live?

Cowgirl is Dana's taunt for the new kid from out West, delivered while squeezing Roy's head on the school bus. Beatrice later uses the same name when she talks to Roy.

In Hoot, why does Officer Delinko find the nickname of foreman Curly Branitt odd?

He is completely bald, which makes Curly an unlikely thing to call him. His real first name is Leroy, and he is cranky about the vandalism he keeps having to report.

In Hoot, what does Officer Delinko wake up to after dozing off in his patrol car on a stakeout?

Windows sprayed black greet him: every pane of the car was painted over while he slept. The local newspaper ran the story, and his captain took him off patrol.

In Hoot, which item required at Trace Middle School is the running boy plainly not wearing?

Shoes are what he lacks: the boy sprints along the sidewalk with nothing on his feet and keeps going straight past the bus. Roy later carries a spare pair across town to give him.

In Hoot, what kind of restaurant is the Mother Paula's chain planning to build where the owls nest?

A pancake house is the plan, and vandalism keeps holding up the work. An actress plays Mother Paula in the chain's TV commercials and is booked for the groundbreaking.

In Hoot, which fictional Florida coastal town does Roy Eberhardt's family move to at the start?

Coconut Cove is the town, and Roy is used to being the new kid because his father's government job keeps the family moving. He finds Florida flat, hot and humid.

In Hoot, how is Beatrice Leep related to the runaway boy she secretly protects, Mullet Fingers?

Stepsister is the link: her father Leon married his mother Lonna. Beatrice is the only person who knows the boy has slipped back into town, which is why she warns Roy to stop snooping.

In Hoot, Beatrice Leep is feared at Trace Middle School as a star of which sport?

Soccer is her game, and classmates call her Beatrice the Bear. Garrett tells Roy she once broke a football player's collarbone.

In Hoot, what injury does Roy give Dana Matherson with a wild punch while escaping the school bus?

A broken nose is the result, though Roy only swung behind him to break Dana's chokehold. Roy's mother gives him the news at home, and his father looks quietly proud.

In Hoot, what must Roy write for Dana Matherson as part of his punishment from the vice principal?

An apology letter is ordered, along with a suspension from the school bus. Roy's version promises not to hit Dana again provided Dana leaves him alone, and he delivers it to Dana's front door himself.

In Hoot, what does Mullet Fingers take from the bulldozers to delay work at the Mother Paula's site?

The seats vanish overnight, so nobody can drive the machines until replacements arrive. The stunt comes after Dana's arrest, which shows the police have locked up the wrong boy.

Carl Hiaasen's Hoot was named an honor book for which major American children's literature prize?

Newbery Medal judges named it an honor book, the citation given to the leading contenders behind the winner. It was Hiaasen's first novel for young readers after years of crime fiction for adults.

The burrowing owls in Hoot are a real species; which body feature sets them apart from most other owls?

Long legs let burrowing owls run down prey in open grassland, and unlike most owls they are often active in daylight. They nest and roost in burrows where the vegetation is low.

Which singer supplied songs for the 2006 film of Hoot, co-produced it and played teacher Mr. Ryan?

Jimmy Buffett did all three, singing covers and originals on the soundtrack. Carl Hiaasen appears on screen too, in a cameo as an assistant to the Mother Paula's executive.

Which future Oscar-winning actress played Beatrice Leep in the 2006 film version of Hoot?

Brie Larson was a teenager when she played Beatrice, years before she won the Academy Award for Room. Luke Wilson played Officer Delinko in the same film.

In Hoot, which venomous snakes does Mullet Fingers slip through the fence to scare the guard dogs?

Cottonmouths, also known as water moccasins, send the trainer Kalo and his dogs packing. Mullet Fingers had taped the snakes' mouths shut first so that nobody could be bitten.

In Hoot, what does Mullet Fingers glue to his snakes' tails so that they are easy to spot?

Glitter, in blue, marks every tail. Roy had already stumbled on the same sparkling snakes in a bag at the boy's camp in the woods.

In Hoot, which abandoned vehicle in a junkyard does Mullet Fingers use as a hideout?

An ice cream truck is his hideout, and it is where Beatrice first tells Roy who the running boy really is. Roy later helps bandage the boy's bitten arm inside it.

In Hoot, what does Roy dump over the fence for the owls shortly before Curly catches him?

Crickets are his gift: a whole container of them, tipped out for the owls to feast on. Curly storms over and insists there are no owls on the property at all.

In Hoot, what is stuck on Dana Matherson's feet when Officer Delinko spots him in the road?

Rat traps snapped shut on him because Curly had ringed his trailer with them. Dana then gave the foreman a false name: Roy Eberhardt.

In Hoot, what does Roy claim is stashed in the building-site trailer to lure Dana Matherson there?

Cigarettes are the bait, because Dana cannot resist a free stash. Roy lets himself be caught on purpose, then offers the secret as the price of being let go.

In Hoot, which federal department employs Roy's father, whose job keeps the Eberhardt family moving?

Justice is his department, so Roy hesitates to name Dana at home in case a school bully ends up in far too much trouble. His father later gets hold of a copy of the Mother Paula's permit file.

In Hoot, where does Lonna Leep keep sending her son Mullet Fingers, only for him to run away?

Military school was Lonna's answer, time after time, and he ran away from the last one. When he sneaked back to town, Beatrice was the only person he told.

In Hoot, what was Beatrice biting off Lonna Leep's foot when she broke her own tooth?

A toe ring was the target, and she pulled it off with her teeth. The story her teammates heard at school was that she had simply fallen down.

In Hoot, which folk song does Beatrice start singing as the protesters link arms?

This Land Is Your Land rises from the human chain shielding Mullet Fingers, and the actress hired to play Mother Paula asks to join in. A TV station broadcasts the protest live.

In Hoot, what is the real name of Mullet Fingers, kept from Roy until the final chapter?

Napoleon Bridger is the name Beatrice had promised never to reveal. When Roy first asks, the boy says he does not have a name.

In Hoot, which document is missing from the Mother Paula's file that Roy hands a reporter?

Environmental impact statement is the title of the missing study, which had shown pairs of owls nesting on the site. It later turns up among a city councilman's belongings, along with thousands of dollars.

Hoot author Carl Hiaasen spent decades as a columnist for which Florida newspaper?

Miami Herald readers knew his name well before young readers did: he joined the paper in 1976 and wrote a column from 1985 until he retired in 2021. His novels often target political corruption in his home state.

Which Carl Hiaasen novel for young readers, about a father who sinks a casino boat, followed Hoot?

Flush came out in 2005, Hiaasen's second novel for young readers, with a new cast and another polluter to expose. Scat, Chomp and Squirm kept up the run of one-word titles.

In Hoot, which conservation charity does the Mother Paula's company give money to after the scandal?

Nature Conservancy funds are promised in a TV report, which Roy and his father read as the company covering itself. The executive who ran the project ends up resigning.

In Hoot, Beatrice's father Leon Leep is a retired professional player of which sport?

Basketball was Leon's career: he played in the NBA and retired more than a decade ago. Now he spends his days in front of the television, and Beatrice cooks his dinner every night.

In Hoot, the actress who plays Mother Paula, Kimberly Lou Dixon, was a runner-up in which pageant?

Miss America is the title she nearly won, and she is only just starting out in films. At the groundbreaking she sides with the children and steps into their circle.

In Hoot, what wreck in a hidden creek do Roy and Mullet Fingers climb onto to watch the water?

A stone-crab boat from the 1970s lies wrecked there. Roy loves the spot and thinks he could have found it himself if he had not been so busy feeling homesick.

In Hoot, what job does the mother of Roy's class-clown friend Garrett hold at Trace Middle School?

Guidance counselor is her job, an irony given that Garrett is a D student best known for fake fart noises. It also makes him a handy source of school gossip and home addresses.

In Hoot, what kind of trip do the Eberhardts take on the Sunday that Roy spends with his parents?

An airboat ride through the Everglades shows Roy the wild side of Florida, and it reminds him of the country he left behind. His mother had insisted on a family outing.