Non-scary books for 5yr old boys

We love stories!! I am constantly reading books to my boys, however, R is pretty scared of just about everything.

Can anyone suggest some chapter books that are low on the scary side?
We've tried Magic Tree House...no go. We've done Magic School Bus and he was ok with that (sometimes).

They have wonderful comprehension so I wanted to challenge that by getting more detailed chapter books, but having a hard time finding ones that won't scare him.

Ideas??

Thanks!!

 

We have the same problem with many chapter books.
 
So far Otfried Preussler (a favourite here in Germany and his books are available in English) has been a good bet, maybe start with the "Little Ghost" and move to the "Little Water-Sprite" next. There are adventures but on the safer and often funny side. Warning: Don't try "Krabat", that is a young adult novel, very deep and scary, even if it may be marketed otherwise.
 
A few other suggestions:
Janosch, The Trip to Panama
Barklem, The Brambly Hedge series (a bonus: they are beautifully illustrated)
 
Another strategy that has worked for us is to read the more scary bits to DD (who has no problems with them) while DS builds Legos on the floor nearby, he sort of listens but can easily tune out if it gets too much for him and then we can read the whole book with both of them together once he knows things will turn out ok in the end.

 

My son loves the Ramona Quimby books, so we started hunting down the Henry Huggins (Higgins?) books for him.  I'd say the only parts of those books he had an issue with is when Ramona's cat died, that upset him.

 

How about either of the Little House on the Prairie or the Anne of Green Gables series? These seem to be usually thought of for girls, but my boys have loved them and when done as read alouds in school, all of the kids love them.

 

These are great suggestions, thank you!!

 

The Ballpark Mysteries.  The first one takes place at Fenway park.  

Roscoe Riley
 
Weird School books.

 

Timothy absolutely loves the "Fudge" series by Judy Blume.  It's told by an older brother about his little brother who is nick-named Fudge.  It's funny.  Our library has the cd's where the author reads the books.  She does all the voices and it's hilarious when she reads them.
 
Marissa

 

Ok, I'm up to $65 on Amazon! Yikes! I'm so excited though!!

 

Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, My Father's Dragon, Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ribsy.  My boys love the Little House books.
 
Library is cheaper then amazon. And if they don't like the book you are not out any money.

 

I love Charlottes Web...we have it but I'm hesitant as we have a farm, that includes...pigs. These are great thank you!

I wish we had a library that was closer, the one in our town is not kid friendly at all (although they are building a new one). So the nearest one that actually has a kid section is about 40 min away.

 

That sucks.  Not having a good library.  We are lucky enough to have one near by that has a great children's room.  I am so spoiled I forget that not every has access to a good library.  Hopefully the new library will be an improvement.
 
I was not sure about Charlotte's Web because of the pig and talking about death but we had some great discussions because of it.  In fact I have one who will not eat meat becasue it is from a dead animal so I wasn't sure if the book would be a good idea or not.  They loved the book and it didn't cause any additional issues.

 

The Trumpet of the Swan (by EB White, who wrote Charlotte's Web). Maybe Encyclopedia Brown books? They're short, non-scary mysteries and fun to try to figure out before the solution is presented.

 

Boxcar children? Skip the first one where they are alone and running away; after that they are with the grandpa.

 

Lighthouse Family & Cobble Street Cousins series by Cynthia Rylant
 
Moongobble & Me series
 
Serendipity Series by Steven Cosgrove (animal based fables- not chapter books but good vocabulary)
 
Lollipop the Pig series by Dick King-Smith (fun british langauge)
 
Classic Start series (may vary on scariness, but abridged childrens versions of classics like Heidi, Black Beauty, Around the World in 80 days, etc)
 
Illustrated classics like Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, etc.
 
Pippi Longstocking Series
 
Adventures of Humphry series (about a hampster and his view on life in the classroom)
 
The Littles Series (preview some books have more suspense than others, but all are family friendly)
 
Who is…..series. Biographies. Some are more suited to younger audiences, but they are interesting-- written by different authors, so preread
 
Usborne Fairy Tales, Castle Tales, Farmyard Tales series….all sweet variations of familiar stories.

 

The Mercy Watson Series, The Flat Stanley Series, The If You Give A Mouse A Cookie Series

 

I would suggest books by Frank Rodgers. These are a little harder to get a hold of if you are in the States, but some of his series can be found on Amazon: The Witch's Dog, Pirate Penguins (I mean, how can you resist a title like Pirate Penguins and the Nostrils of Neptune?).
 
What is nice about these is that they are chapter books, but have illustrations on every page so they make a nice transition between picture books and more wordy chapter books. My boys (5 years old) love his "Mr Croc" books but unfortunately through Amazon I'd say they are way too pricey (you can get them cheap on ebay but they come from the UK so not sure about postage). Anyway, they are very enjoyable if you come across them. 

 

My boys are really into science books right now. The National Geographic series for kids is really great, and you can find lots of books about non-scary animals.