The Missing Manatee
by Cynthia DeFelice
Genre: Juvenile Fiction Sub-Genre: Mystery
Themes: Mystery, family, justice, ambition, determination & perseverence
Primary Characters: Skeet Waters
Secondary Characters: Skeet's mother and father, Dirty Dan (a fisherman), Blink (Dan's son), the Sheriff of Skeet's hometown
Awards: Nominated for the 2006 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery
Published March 24, 2005 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
In this book, an 11-year-old boy named Skeet Waters begins his first day of his long-anticipated spring break by overhearing a terrible fight between his mother and father. Mom eventually tells Dad to leave (permanently, so it would seem), and Skeet leaves the house to go fishing as a means of escape. His excursion offers little peace, however, as he comes upon a manatee floating in the water. The animal appears to have been shot in the head, and an upset Skeet quickly goes ashore and calls upon the local sheriff. The two return to the spot where Skeet found the manatee, only to find that the body is missing. Skeet's determination to solve the mystery of the animal's death is derailed briefly by a fisherman who goes by Dirty Dan; Dan offers to take Skeet fishing for tarpon and Skeet eagerly accepts. Once out on the water, Dirty Dan partakes of some adult beverages and lets slip to Skeet that he knows who is responsible for the manatee's death: His special-needs son, Blink.
This was a heart-wrenching story, but a good mystery nonetheless! I would use it with a class of older elementary-grade students; its content is probably suitable for those in the sixth grade and up, perhaps also for the more mature fifth-grader. It would be a good choice for a smaller literature circle; I would assign it to students who express an interest particularly in animals and mysteries when filling out an interest inventory.
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