One of my favourite memories is of my then girlfriend reading this to me as we paddled about a small lake in a canoe when I was about your age.
It's a lovely book, and highly recommended.
You may also wish to read _ Wind, Sand and Stars_ which is the factual angle.
There was a nifty CD-ROM version of this a while ago (
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/aug/08/news/cl-521 ) which my kids enjoyed, even though I'd already read the book to them.