I grew up in the same sort of house. When I was very little, my mom tells me my favorite bedtime book was Dr. Spock’s Baby Book. She’d read to me all about common childhood illnesses and how to feed a baby. I read Helter Skelter when I was 10, then quickly moved into my dad’s Stephen King collection, but I didn’t think those were good suggestions for this thread ;).
Anne of Green Gables and the follow-ups, although they’re totally girl books.
The Little House books, especially Farmer Boy. I didn’t actually read them until I was twenty, but I wish I’d read them younger.
Seconding John Bellairs (who still bloody scares me), Madeleine L’Engle, and The Phantom Tollbooth.
I recommend The Dark is Rising, A Wizard of Earthsea, and The Neverending Story and Momo, by Michael Ende.
Two series that haven’t been mentioned:
Lemony Snicket: A series of Unfortunate Events.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and its sequels by Jeff Kinney.
Try the Disney version with Jodi Foster as Annabelle.
TravisFromOR, John Bellairs was one of my favorites! I usually recommend starting with The House With A Clock In Its Walls. I remember being around ten years old, reading a scene set in the snowy woods and looking out the window at a sunny Fort Lauderdale day…and still being petrified. :eek:
Another series I loved at that age were the James Herriot books. Not children’s books, but there isn’t anything in them a kid couldn’t read.
The two that come to mind first are Where the Red Fern Grows and Hatchet.
Moving from IMHO to Cafe Society.
Almost all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder “Little House” books, “A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeline L’Engle, the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, and some books from my Mom’s era: the Bobbsey twins and the Judy Bolton books. I wish I still had those Judy Bolton books, they were pretty entertaining (Judy’s fiance, later husband, was a “G-man,” for the FBI!) and also probably worth a bit of change now. One book that I couldn’t remember the title, but asked about on SDMB and someone answered nearly right away was “City Beneath the Stairs,” in which a couple of kids somehow shrink down to the size of ants and are either held by the ants or are their guests (now I can’t recall which!). They finally regain their normal size. I think. 
Just remembered another favorite: the Walter Farley books - all the Black Stallion ones and some of the other ones as well (Island Stallion, etc.). I dearly wanted a horse, despite that I had only ridden one -once- and we had no place or means for caring for one.
The Boxcar Children mysteries
Too many to list all, but I’ll mention Katherine Paterson who wrote Bridge to Terabithia, Jacob Have I Loved, and the Great Gilly Hopkins.
The Giver–a dystopian future book that, IMO, rivals the likes of 1984 or Brave New World. (Not that Orwell and Huxley weren’t great and all but I just didn’t really feel for their characters the way I felt for Jonah. Those books were more about ideas and less about plotting/characterization/etc.)
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh and also the lesser known sequel/companion, The Long Secret.
Lots that have already been mentioned but I’ll add:
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Randome
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (the first book where the surprise ending really surprised me, yet I could see how everything was set up and should have pointed me in that direction – humbled!)
The House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellaire - I don’t remember it too well, except that it was really spooky.
I Want to Go Home and No Coins Please by Gordon Korman. Re-read each a million times.
The Dear America, My American, My Name is America, and The Royal Diaries series–a series of fictional diaries about different times in history. They are excellent.
OMG Beth got her period!!! :eek:
I also read the Melendy books many times over, and most of the Eleanor Estes books. And Betsy-Tacy!
When I was 12 I really liked Gary Paulsen. Hatchet and The River are most memorable. I also remember liking some sports themed books by Matt Christopher.
A lot of the ones I (age 42) remember fondly have already been mentioned, so I’ll second:
The Great Brain books
A Wrinkle In Time (+ sequels)
The Chronicles of Prydain
The Three Investigators books
The Oz books
The Alice books
Tom Sawyer
and I’ll also mention the Chronicles of Narnia, the Freddy the Pig books, and Charlotte’s Web.
::Shakes fist at C3::
I came in here specifically to mention The Phantom Tollbooth!
I’ll second many of those on this list:
Henry Huggins
Ramona
Three Investigators
Westing Game
Judy Blume’s books
Anastasia Krupnik
and I’ll add to those - and I’m sure I’m badly dating myself -
Little Eddie series by Carolyn Haywood - great for the pre-Henry Huggins stage
McGurk series mysteries by E. W. Hildick
Alvin Fernald series by Clifford Hicks
Henry Reed series by Keith Robertson
Heh. I actually found it one of the more realistic portrayals of menstruation. I do love Judy Blume but the girls angsting over wanting their periods left me cold. I was more ambivalent about it. Part of me would have felt weird if I’d NEVER gotten it but blood coming out of my vagina? Blech! No! Did not want!
This is making me want to reread it for about the 1,000th time except I loaned it to a friend last summer who’d never read it…
Anne Spencer Lindberg (daughter of Anne & Charles) wrote very good children’s book.
Nobody has mentioned Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon. Once more work that proves King is not just a horror writer.
Me too! And I’m a girl! But I flipped for these books.
When I got in to high school I discovered Robert Cormier (The Chocolate War, et al). Wow, such great stuff.
I’ll second…
Caddie Woodlawn
Anne of Green Gables
Boxcar Children
Little House on the Prairie
The Westing Game
Encyclopedia Brown (at the younger end of the scope)
Gordon Korman books.
I’ll throw in The Babysitters Club (Serial novels. What a rush!) and The TV Kid.