Just read a delightful novel:
The Cartographer
Peter Twohig
It's about an 11 year old boy in 1959 Melbourne (Aus), who takes himself on many adventures with wonderful zeal and adventure.
A mixture of a boys own (for adults to read) and an espionage novel for tweens.
Wonderful, especially as it's a first novel.
Amazon's got it:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Cartograph.../dp/B005U7CVL4