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Hi all,
would you give me your recommendations for books for kids (my older boy is almost six now) that are adventurous and yet not scary at all? We are currently reading the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome. My boys love it and I am searching for something similar, with likable characters, some action, outdoor life, some mystery etc. that is interesting for boys their age. We also just finished Pipi Longstocking with a lot of success. The thing is, my son is very sensitive to negative emotions in media, and won't even watch most cartoons because of all the treacherous hostile characters that are so often the main storytelling vehicle in books for the younger audience (all the wolfs, witches, scary wizards, and other bad guys). I would love to support his newly discovered passion for reading (or being read to) but am afraid to launch into something that would turn out too distressing for him, and maybe even discouraging him from reading. Thank you for your wise advice!!

My first thought was the Wayside School stories by Louis Sachar. It's been a long, long time since I've read them, but I remember the stories being silly and fun. And if they like Wayside, they may also like My Weird School.

Is your son averse to all bad guys/antagonists? Asking because my second thought was Captain Underpants. Obviously, there are villains, but I remember them being quite silly.

For mystery books, I think Nate the Great is a pretty good series for children. I also personally enjoyed Encyclopedia Brown when I was a kid, but I was 8-9 when I read those. The A to Z mystery series is also a good one.

They might like Dr Seuss books, or you can try Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events and David Baldacci's Freddie and French Fries.

Alhen James wrote:They might like Dr Seuss books, or you can try Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events and David Baldacci's Freddie and French Fries.

He or she said his kid doesn't even like negative even in cartoons - wouldn't A Series of Unfortunate Events be way worse?

There's a fire and death in the first chapter alone, then just more bad things.

I strongly advise against this for a sensitive child.

I say books like Arthur, Franklin, Frog and Toad, Jigsaw Jones, Dr Seuss, and the like. Captain Underpants may be okay as another above said, too.

The Magic treehouse series. My 5 year old loves them!

My kids loved the Magic Treehouse books at that age and if he doesn't mind the main character being a little girl--- the Junie B Jones books are GREAT

Thank you all for the suggestions! The Magic Treehouse looks wonderful, we will totally try it! Looks like just what we need... The Wayside school looks great, too!
I read the Lemony Snicket series recently because many friends mentioned it and honestly, I found it rather intense. I can't see my son being ok with all the terrible things happening there I still feel nauseous myself when I see a mushroom. But I have heard of many sweet and wonderful kids who seem to love the series, so who knows?!

At that age (and still does) my son LOVED the "Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing" books by Judy Blume. Fudge cracked him up.

When I was that age I loved a series called the Magic Schoolbus. Does not have any negative elements to it.