Need bedtime read aloud for 11 – 12 yo boy

Thanks for the great ideas.  We have read or heard the audio of some of these books.  We got the first two in the Saturdays series on audio book from the library and he liked them, so I might read aloud the other two.  They are all four available for kindle.

Since he is my oldest, I would like to read him books that may be challenging for him to read himself, so at or above his reading level.  But really I am more interested that it has good morals and can inspire him to greatness and be in awe of our Creator.  Maybe something to spur on a discussion and can be a special bonding time at the end of the day for the two of us to enjoy together.  I prefer the kindle because I am reading in the dark.

Old Yeller is $1.99 on kindle.  We saw the Disney movie 3 or 4 years ago.  But I thunk the book will be good too.

We have not yet read Little Lord Fauntleroy on the SCM literature guide.  It is free for kindle and seems like it may be a good fit.  I might read Swiss Family Robinson later too.

We are in Middle Ages for school and reading Adam of the Road later this year as a family.  But those three Avi books (Crispin, etc.) are only about $5 each on kindle.  I will start with the first one and go from there.  The other Avi books (Poppy) are not yet on kindle.

I remember having to read Mrs Frisby in school and I did not care for it.  It is not on kindle yet.

I have looked into the Little Britches series.  It seems like it is better suited to an older child.  So I thought maybe in a year or two.  Or I may have the wrong impression.  I have never read any of them.

Thanks.

As an update, my son is 14 this spring.  We did read the GA Henty book, St George of England.  While my son enjoyed it, I did not.  There was way too much fighting in wars, and it was so descriptive of it.  I even skipped over some of it as I read aloud.  Since it was a kindle book, I am not sure of the number of pages, but it was very long.

We LOVED Little Lord Fauntleroy!  And maybe we will read it again sometime.  I highly recommend it.

We read Mountain Born and its sequel A Place for Peter.  We both enjoyed these, and they had great character lessons and descriptions of working in nature with sheep, dogs/puppies, maple syrup, farm life, clearing a path (including rattlesnakes) and more.  The main character is a boy growing up and trying to gain his father’s trust and approval.  He is thirteen years old in the sequel and begins taking on more responsibilities and working alone.

Cinnabar by Marguerite Henry was a fun, quick read about a fox and his family.

We plan to read Little Britches this summer.  I have seen this recommended here a lot.

I have found out that the books we read need to appeal to us both.   If I don’t like the book (Henty), I tend to dread it.  This bedtime reading should be something we both look forward to.

Here is a blog post I found to be helpful too.  There are links to other blog posts at the bottom, including Ann Voskamp’s.

https://wheremytreasureis.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/stories-for-summer-jonathans-top-picks-for-boys/

Thank you all for your help.  The only problem now is deciding which book to read next.  So many books, so little time!