Again, the disclaimer that I was never a 12-year-old boy. I also didn't read a whole lot of books about boys, preferring strong girl characters, but since I read a lot, I did come across a few. Homer Price was one of my favorites-- Homer would be about 80 were he still alive, but the book is still in print. All of these are, which says something about their staying power. I didn't include ones like the Danny Dunn series, which is defunct, or the Hardy Boys, because they morph with every decade.One of my most treasured books is one sent to me by Donald J. Sobol. I have very fond memories of reading the Encyclopedia Brown mysteries with my mother. And I was voted down when I wanted to name Norbert "Henry Reed". (Bonus points: from which of my favorite books does the name "Norbert" come? Hint: It's a girl book.)
What books did the boys out there read? Certainly there were more in the 1970s that I missed.
McCloskey, Robert. Homer Price (1943)
Cleary, Beverly. Henry Huggins. (1950)
Robertson, Keith. Henry Reed, Inc. (1958)
George, Jean Craighead. My Side of the Mountain (1960)
Sobol, Donald J. Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective (1963)
Fitzgerald, John Dennis. The Great Brain (1967)
Rockwell, Thomas. How to East Fried Worms (1973)
Byars, Betsy. The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown (1988)
Pilkey, Dav. The Adventures of Captain Underpants (1997)
Winkler, Henry. Niagra Falls or Doesn't It? (2003) Hank Zipzer
It has been so long since I have thought about Homer Price. I loved that book as a child.
ReplyDeleteI am a HUGE FAN of Henry Reed! I still get a few kids to read him every year...they're so funny!
ReplyDeletePerhaps Roald Dahl? I believe Danny Champion of the World, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach were all 60s and 70s publications.
ReplyDeleteRobert Peck's Soup books.
And Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was published in the 70s too, even it the rest of the series didn't come along until later.
I have that exact version of Encyclopedia Brown in my classroom. Love the old covers!