Synopsis
Middle school student Roy Eberhardt is a new resident to the town of Coconut Grove, Florida. He doesn't have many friends but is intrigued when he notices a barefoot boy running through the woods near his home. Roy eventually befriends this boy and discovers that he is an environmental activist who will use any means necessary to prevent developers from destroying the woodland homes of a colony of burrowing owls. A 2003 Newbery Honor book.

Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.

Details
Publication Date:	2004-05-01
Edition Description:	Reprint

Size
Length:	292 pages
Height:	8.3 in
Width:	5.5 in
Thickness:	1.2 in
Weight:	11.2 oz

Publisher's Note
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.

Industry Reviews
"Though readers will have few doubts about the success of the kids' campaign, several suspenseful scenes build to the denouement involving the sitcom-like unraveling of a muckity-muck at the pancake house. These, along with dollops of humor, help make the novel quite a hoot indeed."
(06/24/2002)