Vintage Book Titles for Boys

I did a lot of reading as a kid. I remember telling the elementary school librarian that I had already read all of the books in the library. I’m positive that I had not really done so, but I read A LOT.

Certain titles that I read over and over again became sentimental to me, so as I started getting more active in the vintage and antique world, I began to look for vintage and antique copies of my favorite books. I’ve shared pictures of some of my favorites over on Instagram and Facebook, but I thought I might share a list of some of the titles that I specifically look for. I separated those titles into a boys’ list and a girls’ list, but boys and girls would enjoy books from either list. In fact, two of my very favorites that I re-read many times are on the boys’ list: My Side of the Mountain and James and the Giant Peach.

If you’re like me and you’d like to have a vintage copy of one of these books on your bookshelf, you might be amazed how easily you can find them once you start looking for a specific title.

If you’re looking for a vintage copy of a favorite book, try garage or estate sales, thrift or antique stores, or online auctions.

Here are a few of the classic titles that I think are great for boys.

• White Fang by Jack London
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London
• My Side of the Mountain (a triology) by Jean Craighead George
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Robinson Crusoe by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
• The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Slinger
• The Giver (a quartet) by Lois Lowry
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Vern
• The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
• The Legend of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
• Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
• The 3 Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• The Black Stallion by Alec Ramsay
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
• Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
• The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
• Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

And just for good measure here are two more that I think are must-reads for boys and are sure to become classics:

• Wonder by R. J. Palacio
• The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

Do you have any that you would include on this list? Connecting to characters in books can be different for everyone. As an adult we think back on those characters with sentimental feelings. I hope you will look for one of these books and reconnect with a favorite character from your childhood. And better yet, I hope you will give one of these books away to a child so that they can connect with them, too. Happy Reading!