Classics that boys might like.

[drudgetrudy]

I remember enjoying a lot of classic children's books at age 8-12. Anne of Green Gables, What Katy Did, Little Women, The Secret Garden etc.

I'm having trouble thinking what the equivalent type of book would be that a boy might enjoy.
Any suggestions?

The Silver Sword
Skellig
Five Children and It
Famous Five
Stig of the Dump
Phillip Pulman books
Harry Potter (the first three at least)
Narnia books

Beau Geste! Proper boys own adventure about loyalty and the French legion. It was my Dad's favourite growing up and I love it too.
Watership Down?
The Hobbit
The Redwall Books! My younger brother loved them and I nicked them
after he read them

Indian in the Cupboard

Treasure Island
Robinson Crusoe
Lord of the Flies

Forgot! The Prisoner of Zenda.

White Fang
Call of the Wild
Three Musketeers
Just William
Biggles

Definitely Call of the Wild.

Also

The Cay (not too long)
My Side of the Mountain
The Hatchet

Bridge to Terabithia is good too - the main protagonist is a boy although it is not adventure based, but it is lovely.

Lord of the rings
The phantom tollbooth
The Saturdays

The hobbit

Jennings
My family & other animals - Durrell

Ones ds has loved (he's 8yo). Not strictly speaking classics maybe though:

Little hosue books (especially Farmer Boy)
Cue for Treason
Mystery at Witchend (and the rest of the Lone Pine)
Biggles (various ones)
39 Steps
Swallows and Amazons set (especially Peter Duck)

Willard Price's Adventure series?

Jules Verne
Jack London
Scarlet Pimpernel
Sherlock Holmes (short stories?)

Cider with Rosie for upper age range

We've just discovered the Prydain books by Lloyd Alexander. They were made into the Disney film "Taran and the Magic Cauldron" but they're so much better! Positive but flawed male and female characters and a lot of not-so-sly humour.

They're set in a fictionalised tribal Wales, although the writer is American, with a lot of Welsh mythology mixed in. If you think The Hobbit is a bit advanced for your DC but want something similar, these are great. DD (9), who thought Redwall was too violent, loves them and I'm sorry DS never got to read them at her age (but he listens in through the open bedroom door now).

We found them after borrowing his autobiographical book "The Fantastical Adventures of the Invisible Boy" from the library with no idea what it would contain. What a find!

Swallows and Amazons ( and other A Ransome sailing stories)
Jennings
Just William
The Hobbit
The Dark is Rising sequence

Weird stone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
The Water Babies
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliffe
The Adventure series by Enid Blyton

SgtMj- it's called The Black Cauldron here, and I agree, the books are fantastic!

I was wondering about this and came across this article recently which reviewed lots of classics:

www.theguardian.com/books/2000/mar/24/childrens.library

Some great suggestions-thanks.