Hi, Pauli!
(Another book thread...oh goody!)
My guys like magic, too, lots of adventures, and some suspense, but not really, really scary, so these might not be quite right (it's battles I'm having a hard time thinking of right now for you).
I second the Prydain Chronicles (good battles in these ones) and the Edward Eager books--all very good.
A couple other ideas:
-The LM Boston Green Knowe series (my lads love these)
-The Wrinkle in Time series (my kids have only read the first one; I read all the rest recently and liked them a lot)
-the Philippa Pearce books (not a series, but several really nice books, especially for boys, I think--Tom's Midnight Garden, Minnow on the Say, The Little Gentleman, The Way to Sattin Shore, etc.--oh, also some volumes of ghost stories)
-John Masefield's children's books (The Box of Delights and The Midnight Folk)--these should fill the bill, I think.
-E. Nesbit (not a series, either) (Five Children and It, The Seven Dragons, The House of Arden, etc.)
-lots of people like the Joan Aiken books (I've only read one, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, when I was a girl, way too many years ago, sigh...but remember liking it a lot).
-my favourite bookseller recommended the Susan Cooper Dark is Rising series to me (for Harpo-7)--the cover freaked me out a little, so I preread them--too scary for Harpo, and likely for most five year-olds--but maybe on a shelf for later?
-we've also liked a lot of the books from Jane Nissen Books (publisher of reprinted classics in the UK)--several of hers seem to feature time-travel, dragons, kids saving the day, and so on--we've had about a dozen of these, all told, and have enjoyed them all.
-This is not a series either, but is too good to miss--it's 5 yo Groucho's favourite, favourite book--Mistress Masham's Repose, by the lovely TH White (whom I wish I had known! so, so wonderful)--there's a jolly good battle in this one! If he likes this one, then try The Sword in the Stone, also by TH White--a really terrific book (the rest of the Once and Future King quartet is much too sad--and with too-adult themes--for youngsters, but the S-in-the-S is not to be missed by the young!)
Oh, have fun!
peace
minnie
