Currently reading...

I've got three books going at the moment.
The cover of Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow 2008), a blurry, old-fashioned photo of a boy with a net in a lake, murmers "for special readers" or perhaps more directly "shelf-sitter." In other words, one isn't in for a rip-roaring adventure yarn. However, I'm enjoying it immensely. The tone is quiet and contemplative, but the plot, involving boys from two different families during a summer at the lake, moves along at an easy, if not action-packed, pace. I'm half-way through and looking forward to diving back in. For kids in grades 4 to 6.
Rex Zero and the End of the World by Tim Wynne-Jones takes place in 1962 in Ottawa, where almost-11-year-old Rex has moved and is trying to make friends before school starts. His huge, sister-dominated family and a mysterious creature on the loose (maybe a panther?) are equally compelling plot elements, related in a breezy tone that makes this an excellent "boy book" for grades 4 to 6.
Finally, I'm listening to An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke, my obligatory grown-up book, about a guy named Sam who bumbles through life. He means well, but manages at 19 to set a fire that kills two people. Later, his marriage fails through sheer inertia and haplessness. The writing is fine, but Sam is irritating as hell - I just want to shake some sense into him.