Author/Illustrator: Carl HiaasenPlot Summary: A father lands in jail after sinking a gambling boat in protest against the owner who is dumping raw sewage into the waters around Key West. This is not the first, nor the last time, his principles get him in to hot water. However, his two children, Noah and Abby come to his rescue by helping to prove what really happened.
Comments: This was a companion book to "Hoot," a Newbery Award winner and also about an environmental issue in Florida. Both books were great because they combined important environmental issues with an interesting, convincing story. My neighbors grew up in Florida and said his depiction of Florida and growing up in Florida as children was right on the mark. Hiaasen's writing for adults is also excellent - primarily and intially for the Miami Herald but then as a book author.
Extensions:
1. After reading the book - individually or in a read aloud, students would research, and report on, local environmental issues.
2. After reading the book, students would write, produce and film a public service announcement(PSA) video on an environmental issue of their choice.
3. After reading the book, students would write, and/or debate, how they might have handled the same situation. This could be related to a study of violent versus non-violent protests.
Themes/keywords: environmental protection, river boats, fathers, Florida
Age/Reading Level: Interest level -4-8th grade; ATOS - 5.0; Lexile - 830
Standards:
S6CS10/S7CS10. Students will enhance reading in all curriculum areas by:
a. Reading in All Curriculum Areas Read a minimum of 25 grade-level appropriate books per year from a variety of subject disciplines and participate in discussions related to curricular learning in all areas Read both informational and fictional texts in a variety of genres and modes of discourse Read technical texts related to various subject areas
b. Discussing books - etc.
S7L4. Students will examine the dependence of organisms on one another and their environments.
a. Demonstrate in a food web that matter is transferred from one organism to another and can recycle between organisms and their environments.
b. Explain in a food web that sunlight is the source of energy and that this energy moves from organism to organism.
c. Recognize that changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of both individuals and entire species.
d. Categorize relationships between organisms that are competitive or mutually beneficial.
e. Describe the characteristics of Earth’s major terrestrial biomes (i.e. tropical rain forest, savannah, temperate, desert, taiga, tundra, and mountain) and aquatic communities (i.e. freshwater, estuaries, and marine).
Publisher's Info: Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 2005
ISBN-13: 978-0-375-84185-9
ISBN-10: 0-375-84185-7
Awards/Review Sources:
Wilson's Children 10/01/06 | Wilson's Junior High School 08/21/06 |
| Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/06 | School Library Journal 09/01/05 |
| Book Links (A.L.A.) 11/01/06 | Horn Book starred 04/01/06 |
| Publishers Weekly 06/27/05 | New York Times 11/13/05 |
Genre/Dewey: Fiction
Websites:
Author's Website: http://www.carlhiaasen.com/index.shtml
Flush website by a middle school class in Texas - http://flushbook.weebly.com/index.html
From the Miami Herald - http://www.miamiherald.com/424
Notes for Booktalk:
Vocabulary:
Comments