Children's classics to read to my 10 year old

[junipermarten]

DS shares my love of reading and devours books. He started off with books like Diary of Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates, etc, but has recently moved onto full novels.
I bought him The Boy at the Back of the Class, he loved it and finished it really quickly.

We were watching the original Matilda the other day, Moby Dick featured which started a conversation between DS and me about the classics. I thought it would be a good idea for us to read some children's classics together and suggested Moby Dick as I haven't read it. I've just gone to look at it and apparently it's not a suitable children's book 😂 Unless it's the illustrated and abridged version. I had no idea.

I've bought him the first Harry Potter book for Christmas, and I'm hoping he falls in love with the series. He's not been interested in it in the slightest but now he's reading more "grown-up" books I'm hoping he enjoys it.

Does anyone have any suggestions of some children's "classics" that I can read to him that would be enjoyable for us both?

The Silver Sword by Ian Serralier

Oh thank you! Some great suggestions. I loved the Narnia books, Secret Garden, Swallows and Amazons and Treasure Island so they would be good.

Lots here that I haven't read which is fab. And the suggestion of Terry Pratchett which is great as I've never read him but have thought about it.

I did consider Roald Dahl. I had both "Charlie and the.." books, I read them over and over, they ended up quite tatty.

So much to choose from, can't wait!

Narnia books are excellent, also my nine year old has enjoyed sting of the dump and is currently enjoying Frankenstein with his dad reading, they also enjoyed animal farm together. With me we have just read Matilda due to seeing the film (although he stole it off me and finished it himself 😂), we have also ready Harry Potter and war horse.

Oh and how about King Arthur or Greek/Norse myths ?

Some nice suggestions here, but waaay too young for a ten-year-old - I was reading George Orwell and Thomas Hardy by the time I was 11 (although I appreciate that that was also not entirely age-appropriate).

Some good fantasy might work - Ursula K Le Guin, Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper?

My 7 year old is loving Harry Potter (I’m reading the illustrated book one to her). I’m gutted my 10 yo isn’t interested in reading! When I was 10 I was a mega bookworm. I loved anything Enid blyton, Anne of green gables series, narnia series, two pence to cross the Mersey, Roald Dahl books. I read phantom of the opera but had no idea what the hell was going on- think I was a bit young for that one! Loved all the spooky ones too like point horror and goosebumps

King Arthur is a good shout, The Once and Future King is a brilliant telling of the Arthurian legend

I've decided to start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I dotn think I've ever read the book, just seen the film so it should be good for both of us!

Lots of fab suggestions here that I'll need to keep a note of for us to work through.

We've done The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

We have also done Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

The silver sword
Books by Roger Lancelyn Green such as the Greek heroes one
Children of the Oregon Trail
Any Edith Nesbit
and I agree re many or the previous mentioned eg Laura Ingalls wilder,CS Lewis,Arthur Ransome etc

The Children Of Green Knowe - Lucy M Boston.

The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith might be worth a look.

Railway children?

Not quite classics but I loved the Redwall series at that age and so did my DH!

Mary Poppins

If he enjoys Swallows and Amazons please don't stop there. So few people go on to the rest of the books in the series which are as good if not better. I still read them all regularly at 61!

Not classics but could also try Rumble Star and The Land of Roar if he likes Narnia once you have read it as these are also portal stories. You could try Stig of the Dump, Twitch by MG Leonard, Who Let the Gods out by Maz Evans, Beetle Boy, Roof Toppers by Katherine Rundell, the Valley of the Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr, When the Sky Falls is a great one too!!!

Mine slightly younger but loved Charlottes Web
the Christmasaurus is lovely

I’ve the Wizard of Oz do read after this

Bookshop Girl by Sylvia Bishop.

Property Jones loves living in a bookshop, but she's hiding a whopper of a secret... she can't actually read! When Property's family win The Montgomery Book Emporium in a surprise raffle, Property's life is turned upside down. But will her secret come out?

It's not a classic yet. It should be though.

I read to my 9 and 11yos, we have enjoyed:

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
The Dark is Rising series
Watership Down
The Chrestomancy series

We've also enjoyed some excellent more modern books:

The wolf brother series
The "the name of this book is secret" series
The House with Chicken Legs and The Girl who Speaks Bear.
A girl called Owl.
A girl called justice.
Murder Most Unladylike.

Five children and IT. Weirdstone books by Alan Garner. Garth Nix has some good ones - although perhaps a bit more modern than a classic. Also not exactly a book but I loved Asterix and Obelix comics at that age.

DD loves reading, she read a lot of differnt styles and genres from 9/10 onwards and now moves to adult/YA books.

But - most of typical classic books were never her favourite ones. She had The Little Princess as an audiobook and liked it but hated Anne of Green Gables. She liked the TV version but really struggled with the old fashion language. Dickens is her idea of hell, Tolkin similar (but she is not big into fantasy anyway). Peter Pan was finished with a big sigh.

She is now 15 and enjoys English Lit in school but still struggles to enjoy books typical recommended by "books you should read" lists. She loves Austen but I think that because she loves history and is fascinated with Regency and the status of women in society.

I’m currently reading Carrie’s War with my 10 year olds.

The Eagle of the Ninth series by Rosemary Sutcliff
Treasure Island
Anything by Alan Garner, start with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.