Kenny's book report is due Wednesday.

It's only his second one this year. I'll probably mention to his teacher at the conference later this month that she ought to give more book reports. Even though getting this one done is going to kill us. Because he reads so poorly. I'm appalled. Jeff isn't.

Our goal is ten pages a night but we'll have to double-up this weekend because ... he has 100 80 pages to go! Even then, he's going to need help.

We are reading a more challenging book than usual. With so few reports, why not?

This is likely a book that Jeff read in the sixth grade because I think he read everything in the sixth grade, even Narnia. Nonetheless, he doesn't exactly remember the plot. I'm the one who picked it because I figure that if I gotta read it along with Kenny, I might as well enjoy it too.

And I couldn't have made a better choice

- it's right up my alley! -: under-appreciated kids run away from home to a library the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If I could find my NYC Subway maps, I could show Kenny "Uptown." The only time we went there, we walked from MSG, up Eighth and through the Park to 5th and 79th or 78th or wherever it is. On the way back down, we were smart and took the subway.

To give you a sense of the degree of reading difficulty, Kenny can't even pronounce "metropolitan." The book contains fairly significant vocabulary words which, had I known, would be appropriate for flash-cards.

For the most part, the story captivates him. The sister and brother team act true.

UPDATE: OK, we just completed chapter 5 and I have to pronounce and explain "marijuana" and "dope" to him. Is nothing rated 'G'?