Books for a 10 year old boy who doesn't like magic/sci fi

[Hallloumi]

Looking for recommendations for a friends' son. He is not a big reader but they are trying to encourage but he does;t like anything 'not real' (so no magic/sci fi etc). No specific sporty or other interests. I'm stuck so any help appreciated.

The 13 Storey Treehouse series - ridiculous, silly, with comic style drawings throughout. My 10yo loves them. Can be read out loud, or read alone. No particular genre.

Dog Man also good for reading alone.

Oh - I recently re-read the Rosemary Sutcliffe series, having not looked at them since I was a child. So dark. So traumatising. But probably much less so for children!

How about Richmal Crompton’s William books?

In truth I can think of a million things - but I gather that modern children can’t cope with any language produced pre-2000. So I’ve given up recommending John Buchan or P G Wodehouse or Charles Dickens ...

Sutcliff without the ‘e’ my phone wants.

Ds is 11yo, but in the last few years his favourites have included:
Biggles
Lone Pine Series
Swallows and Amazon series
James Heriot's vet series
Alex Rider
Cherub
Swish of the Curtain Series
Various Noel Streatfields/Enid Blytons
Stalky and Co
The Daughter of Time
Cue for Treason

In truth I can think of a million things - but I gather that modern children can’t cope with any language produced pre-2000

Not true. Ds has a preference for older stories. Of course that does mean he may come out with phrases such as "chocks away" "Blast" "Oh gosh!" and "damn unsporting". But he doesn't struggle with the language.

The Barney series by Enid Blyton.
If he likes animals, the Adventure series by Willard Price is good, and all the animal facts are true so they're secretly educational too

My two 8 and 10 have recently liked
Insignificant events in the life of a cactus
Boy at the back of the class
The explorers

+The usual wimpy kid, dog man, captain underpants, the storey treehouses (bit young for 10 perhaps)
Everything else has magic or similar (Harry Potter etc)

They are also mad about the Phoenix magazine and the Beano. And Asterix and Garfield.

My two (8 & 11) enjoyed The War That Saved My Life and City of Ember and I enjoyed them as well!