I'm reading a collection of R.M. Ballantyne books. I'm going through the whole library.
Ballantyne was an author in the 19th century who wrote books for boys, not only to entertain them, but to give them positive role models who displayed good character traits.
He was a mentor to Robert Louis Stevenson and the patron who allowed Stevenson to write and publish "Kidnapped" and "Treasure Island". It is also widely believed that the Boy Scout Law ("A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful...") was inspired by a chapter in one of his books.
Unfortunately, he is mostly forgotten today but his books still hold up and are still great adventures for boys.