What are the boy equivalents of Little House on the Prairie/Anne of Green Gables/Malory Towers/Judy Blume>

[BellaBearisWideAwake]

You know, the books where you end up reminiscing about one night with friends and everyone has read them.


(I appreciate I am generalising heavily about boy and girl books, apologies. Just had a bit of a sad moment when I realised that having no girls I am less likely to pass these stories on to my children)

[Takver]

Sorry, Mountain of Magic, not Mountain that moved. For some reason the other two are vastly expensive on Abebooks/Amazon, but that one not (maybe everyone else remembers the title wrong too )

[Colyngbourne]

The fourth book in that series is even more difficult to find cheaply, The Wickedest Witch in the World. No luck so far.

I read the Laura Ingalls series to both my boys - that kind of pioneering tale is fascinating to any child; even though there might be a bit about dress-making in the later books, there are also descriptions of building a railroad and houses, and the gritty life of near-starvation that happens in The Long Winter.

My brother and I read Biggles, The Hardy Boys, Willard Price, Alfred Hitchcock's Investigators, Alexander Kent's sea-faring adventures, lots of Heinlein and Asimov. But Arthur Ransome would be good too.

In Willard Price, Underwater Adventure (no.3), the scientist who is assisting Hal and Roger, who gets his foot caught in a giant clam, drowns, although he attempts to hack his foot off with a knife against the rising tide. The baddie, Skink, is caught.

[Himalaya]

By the way we found the cereal box book, it was 'The Serial Garden' by Joan Aiken

[pinkthechaffinch]

ponders you jam your thumbs into its (double layered) eyelids as hard as you can. It will then open it's jaws in pain, and you can swim to the surface!!

Birds of Paradise can be caught by sticking chewing gum to the branches they roost on

[pinkthechaffinch]

its not it's

[mk3]

YY to Willard Price. My ds (7) likes Ramona, particularly the funnier ones and just read Stig of the Dump.

How about The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall and maybe The Ghost of Thomas Kempe and The Revenge of Samuel Stokes?

[goosiegander]

The Mr Majeika by Humphrey Carpenter
Just William books by Richmal Crompton
Roald Dahl books

[BelfastBloke]

I remember a rising sense of panic when my class were asked at age 9 to name our favourite authors, and I said 'Willard Price' when called on first (thanks to alphabetisation), and then every other kid in the class said 'Enid Blyton'.

I can't remember if I changed my answer, but I remember I wanted to.

Hardy Boys
Three Investigators
Black Stallion
E Nesbit
Roald Dahl
Just William
Jennings
Worzel Gummidge
Tolkien
Narnia


but also
Malory Towers
St Clare's
Sweet Valley High
Judy Blume

I read everything except Swallows and Amazons, which I could never be arsed with. James Bond books taught me a lot, too early.

[BuntyPenfold]

I second many of these; I loved the Willard Price books but they can't have dated well.
Anything by Jan Mark is good, especially Under the Autumn Garden, Thunder and Lightning.
Susan Cooper Dark is Rising series.

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder - full of wonderful descriptions of outdoor adventure, followed by sumptuous home made dinners to re-energise for the next day.