Chomp

Chomp
by Carl Hiaasen
2012 Knopf (Advance copy from Publisher)
Rating: 4/5

     Another wonderful kid's book from Carl Hiassen. I believe that Hiaasen's strength is that he doesn't write down to kids, these book can be read and enjoyed thoroughly by adults as well.  He won a Newberry Honor for his first children's book, "Hoot", and all his subsequent kid's titles have been great sellers. They all have a strong pro-environment theme without beating the reader over the head with it.
     "Chomp" reads a bit like a lighter version of the book "Swamplandia", one of my favorite reads this year.Wahoo lives with a huge collection of animals, his father is a Florida animal wrangler for TV and movies. They both end up working on a TV survival show starring a Bear Grylls like star. Wahoo ends up working as a calming influence between his tempermental father and the show's star. When things go wrong, it turns into a fight for survival in the Everglades. High adventure, lots of humor, and even a litle romance - I think kids will love this book, I know I did.