# Top 100+ books for boys. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2007, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301 "2007-05-16T11:30:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/21 "2007-05-17T01:10:35Z")
[QUOTE=phungi] [Follow my Leader](http://www.amazon.com/Follow-My-Leader-James-Garfield/dp/0140364854) - about a kid who goes blind following a firecracker explodes, and learns to sue a seeing eye dog [/QUOTE] We’ve become much too litigious. P.S. [Seeing Eye®](http://www.seeingeye.org/AboutUs.asp) dog, registered trademark; guide dog, generic term. P.P.S. I’ve actually read that novel. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/22 "2007-05-17T01:49:16Z")
Frank Buck’s [“Bring 'em Back Alive”](http://www.amazon.com/Bring-Em-Back-Alive-Frank/dp/0896724301) should be on that list. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/23 "2007-05-17T01:59:57Z")
_Blood, guts and class heroes_ were the criteria, eh? And yet, no _Watership Down_? Or _Taran Wanderer_ or other books from _The Prydain Chronicles_ by Lloyd Alexander? Whatever. And let’s not forget _The Princess Bride_ (the “good stuff” version of course). As the grandpa says in the movie version, _Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…_. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/24 "2007-05-17T03:13:35Z")
I nominate My Side of the Mountain I give the list props for including a Calvin & Hobbes book. Brian ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/25 "2007-05-17T03:29:22Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] Also, Holes by Louis Sachar should be on the list… [/QUOTE] Seconded (thirded?) Considering there’s a lot of new books on the list, I’d add _The Lightning Thief_, by Rick Riordan, if not the entire Percy Jackson series. ---
**Author:** ![Della](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c68b51/32.png) [@Della](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Della)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/26 "2007-05-17T03:51:04Z")
Seeing all the Neil Gaiman on the list made me smile, but I would have liked to see some E. B. White. “Charlotte’s Web”, “The Trumpet of the Swan”, and “Stuart Little” are all great books for kids that age. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/27 "2007-05-17T04:08:44Z")
Jack London is a glaring omission to me. I would choose _Danny, Champion of the World_ over the other Dahl book which I’ve never heard of. _Matilda_and _The BFG_ are outstanding. I would think a young boy could relate to the female protagonists in those books. I know I did. I don’t how much more I can contribute to the list because I started reading Harlan Ellison and Isaac Asimov in sixth grade and went from there. Not exactly stuff that appeals to a broad audience. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/28 "2007-05-17T04:27:52Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] We’ve become much too litigious. P.S. [Seeing Eye®](http://www.seeingeye.org/AboutUs.asp) dog, registered trademark; guide dog, generic term. P.P.S. I’ve actually read that novel. [/QUOTE] Same here, but I couldn’t have remembered the title for anything. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/29 "2007-05-17T14:30:10Z")
Do they not have [Hot Rods](http://autohobbies.com/kidsbookspart1.htm) in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/30 "2007-05-17T15:10:53Z")
There should be about five Heinlein Juveniles on there, for sure. I’d also add _My Side of the Mountain_ and _The Mad Scientist’s Club_. Those were my favorite books as a boy. Did I mention the Heinlein Juveniles? Put them ALL there. In fact, put them there twice, because the boys will want to re-read them. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/31 "2007-05-17T15:28:00Z")
Other omissions: [Where the Red Fern Grows](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Red_Fern_Grows) - Wilson Rawls [The War of the Worlds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_worlds) - H.G. Wells [The Time Machine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine) - H.G. Wells [Earth Abides](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Abides) - George R. Stewart Something from **Kurt Vonnegut**. [The Red Pony](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Pony) - John Steinbeck (Sure, technically it’s a short story, but it’s a 100-page short story, and is available as a stand-alone papaerback.) [To Kill a Mockingbird](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_kill_a_mockingbird) - Harper Lee [The Outsiders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outsiders_%28novel%29) - S.E. Hinton The fact that this seems to be a British list explains a lot of the omissions. (But not _H.G.Wells_!) ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/32 "2007-05-17T15:48:46Z")
No Dickens??? WTH?? A Brit list and they don’t list Dickens??? The article blithely says, “The list contains no Dickens…” It should say, “The list contains no Dickens, and should therefore be burnt, irradiated, buried under a mountain, and forgotten.” They’ve got some Twain, but one of my favorites as a boy was _A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court_. Yeah, I know the critics don’t like it. Well, screw 'em. I still like it. **1point618** : _Heart of Darkness_? Really? I’m 56 years old with an English minor, and a lifetime of reading behind me, and I find that thing only slightly less impenetrable than _Finnegan’s Wake_. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/33 "2007-05-17T17:22:34Z")
Its a list for teenage boys, yet a Captain Underpants title is on there. Those are great when you are six. (They are poop humor, so probably always funny, however). ---
**Author:** ![phil417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@phil417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phil417)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/34 "2007-05-18T20:32:31Z")
Definitely Pat McManus, & not only for boys. Try reading one of his crazy Eddy Muldoon stories quietly, while lying in bed next to your sleeping dear heart. Can’t be done. You’ll explode. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301/35 "2007-05-18T20:49:38Z")
I’d like to add [The Tripod books](http://www.amazon.com/Tripods-Trilogy-John-Christopher/dp/0020425716/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/103-6122449-3670222?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179521272&sr=8-3) by John Christopher. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-100-books-for-boys/404301.md?page=1)