Exciting books for boys that are not scary please

I am reading DS (5) The Indian in the Cupboard series at the moment, and he is listening totally wide eyed every night, asking for another chapter. We're on book 3 already. I'd really recommend it, they are very well written and imaginitive.

We've also read the Hobbit recently which went down well. We're going to do the Narnia series next :)

The Nicholas series by Goscinny (author, creator of Asterix) and Sempe (illustrator) is lovely -- amusing in a way that engages all ages, gentle stories full of well-observed characters, lots of detail about the adults and their relationships, and a sense of free-spirited innocence. The stories are set in France and involve his friends and family, and people from the community and the school. There is nothing remotely scary.

There is a little swearing, of the 'big fat stupid ninny' variety, and plenty of conflict among the boys and with their teachers, parents, grannies, etc. Nicholas is a candid little character who approaches life's ups and downs in a direct way. The stories have a tone of 'ripping good times' -- the setting is some time in the slightly slower-paced past in a 'boys' world'.

I keep recommending this - but the Big Book of Tashi is non scary adventure - basically because Tashi is retelling the story himself, then you know he isn't eaten by the dragon or whatever. Fab book, and fab little drawings.

My five year old DS loves Stig of the Dump.

Mine is nearly 7, I'd second Astrosaurs and Mr Gum. Also How to Train your Dragon (Cressida Cowell) exciting and funny. Greek and Norse myths also really went down well-try Atticus the Storyteller by Lucy Coats and Odd and the Frost Giants Neil Gaiman.

Classics

The secret garden. Two boys and not girlish.
Agree swallows and amazons
Have a look at some of the Rumer Godden older children's stories, the diddakoi
Some of them are a bit scary but Lucy Boston's the Children of Green Know set around the manor of hemmingford grey are good. Read them first though
In a year or so The Dark is Rising series. He might be able to cope now with the first done, in fact.
I found the Alan Garner Weirdstone of Brisingamen scary but many didn't.
The children of one end street is lovely and v unwary. And more in that series

Enid Blyton (especially the Faraway Tree series)? Jeremy Strong?

Laura Ingalls Wilder books? My brothers liked these too.

Oh I LOVED Willard Price adventures. Brilliant. Must get them for ds1.

And Tintin....

What about the Willard Price adventures? I remember them being a huge favorite of mine when I was about 6. I've bought the series again for our LO although he hasn't even been born yet!

Ursula Moray Williams' books may be good - The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse and Gobbolino, The Witch's Cat.

You may also want to have a look at Tom Trueheart by Ian Beck. The first one in the series is based on fairy-tales but maybe wait a while for the second one.

Mr Gum. Silly and lovely.

Dick King-Smith

How about Rosemary Manning, greensmoke? All about an elderly dragon living in Cornwall reminiscing adventures in king Arthurs court. There are quite a few in her dragon series and I loved reading them when in was 7.

Ooh the phantom tollbooth is awesome. I was in an am-dram play of it as a 10yo, I was the Spelling Bee :o

I agree with Madamehooch - the age thing is not just about scary/ not scary or vocabulary. It is about complex stories with long pay-offs, assumed knowledge (about boarding schools for example) and characters that are much older than the child.

Stories like that can become boring for a child who is too young for them. Why push him into stories for children much older?

The Phantom Tolbooth.

My ds was very easily scared at that age. He wouldn't have coped with Narnia. I would recommend all the various Enid Blyton series - Faraway Tree, Secret Seven, Famous Five. My ds liked astrosaurs but I didn't enjoy reading them. Did really enjoy the Ramona books by Beverely Cleary, you might need to get them 2nd hand.

Astroaurs - fantastic!
Any Roald Dahl - any but particular faves are Georges marvellous medicine and the twits
Also, we listen to them on audio cd too before bed as a wind down.

Harry Potter is a bit old for him IMO.

Charlie Bone is a brilliant series but I would not recommend it for a 5 year old. It is scary in parts and is also quite involved. Why not wait until he's a bit older so that he can really appreciate it.

Same for Narnia. The Aslan killing is quite brutal.

There's so much good quality stuff aimed at his age group. Try Mr Gum, the Troll Trouble series by Alan McDonald, Marvin Redpost series by Louis Sachar, the Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer or even Pongwiffy by Kaye Umansky.

There's plenty of time for Harry Potter et al.

Beast Quest and Dinosaur Cove are not scary.

DS quite likes Clarice Bean (nowhere near as annoyingly bad as the C/L books)

Have you tried him with poetry?