The classics can feel like historical landmarks, titles chosen by committees for their past importance and largely ignored by contemporary readers. They are the literary equivalent of eating our vegetables. I mean, really, how many people read The Scarlet Letter? Yet every year, high school English teachers and ambitious book club hostesses pick a classic title that does more to diminish the number of enthusiastic readers in the world than streaming video through the Internet.

Enjoyable classics do exist. The success of actor Colin Firth, whose career took off with his role in A&E’s production of Pride and Prejudice, proves that some of these landmark books still hold relevance today. What makes a classic readable is what makes any book readable: memorable language, engrossing plot and compelling characters. When an author uses these elements and creates a lasting connection with his audience, the time period of the writer and the reader becomes irrelevant.
In compiling the list that follows, I looked over titles recommended by librarians, teachers and professional organizations and focused on titles that appeared on multiple lists and elicited a strong attachment from readers. If I felt like I could give a selected book as a gift with a reasonable expectation that both parent and child would be happy, it won a spot on the list. (Sorry, Captain Underpants!)

You will find titles that you may have read as a child and others that were recently published. These are classics for modern readers, and good stories are being told even now. All titles were chosen with both genders in mind.

Board Books
Good Night, Gorilla
By Peggy Rathmann
This is the perfect book to work into your infant’s bed time routine. During his last round of the night, a zookeeper has his keys stolen by a young gorilla. As the zookeeper says good night to the animals, the gorilla quietly unlocks their cages and lets them out. They file behind the zookeeper and follow him home. The story is told in cheerfully-drawn pictures; the only text being the characters saying good night to one another. Careful observation of each picture reveals secondary storylines involving a cuddly mouse and curious neighbors.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By Eric Carle and Bill Martin
This Eric Carle classic remains relevant because it has elements that every emerging reader needs − rhyme, repetition and great visuals. Each page pairs an animal with a color (e.g., brown bear, red bird, green frog) and asks it what it sees. Their answer leads into the next page. The brown bear sees the red bird that sees the green frog and so on. Concise and clever, this book is a staple in any young child’s library.
Picture Books
Officer Buckle and Gloria
by Peggy Rathmann
Officer Buckle, Napville’s safety officer, continually writes safety tips down (#77: NEVER stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR) and regularly visits the local elementary school to dispense his suggestions for staying safe. The students find these presentations boring until Gloria, his new police dog, comes along. Unbeknownst to Officer Buckle, as he expounds on his tips, Gloria acts them out. When he discovers that people are more interested in Gloria than his safety presentation, he has to decide whether to continue the relationship. As in Good Night, Gorilla, Rathmann’s warm illustrations and clever plot − replete with secondary storylines − make this book a treasure.

Make Way for Ducklings
By Robert McCloskey
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are looking for a safe place to raise their ducklings and believe they have found it in Boston Commons. With drawings done in simple sepia and white, McCloskey brings to life Boston as it was in the late 50s. Children will appreciate the story’s idea that even a loud and busy world will stop to insure the safety of its young.

Beginners
Amelia Bedelia
By Peggy Parish
The adventures of this easily confused housekeeper provide an excellent opportunity for beginning readers to work on discerning meaning. Amelia Bedelia constantly misinterprets the instructions her family gives her. When they tell her to draw the drapes, she sits down on a chair to draw a picture of them. The genius of Parish’s approach is that she makes kids the expert − kids know what “draw the drapes” means − and uses that imbued confidence to build their experience with literal and figurative language.

Henry and Mudge
By Cynthia Rylant
This is the first book in a series of stories about Henry and his Bull Mastiff, Mudge. With no siblings and few kids on his street to play with, Henry asks his parents for a dog. They acquiesce and bring home Mudge. The boy and his dog are fast friends, and Rylant chronicles their daily adventures in the simple events that mark a child’s life − spring puddles, sleepovers and summer vacations.

Chapter Books
Charlotte’s Web
By E.B. White
I balked at reading this story to my kids because, although I loved it as a child, I remembered its sad ending. Yes, the book covers a number of life’s harsh realities − death, injustice, obsequiousness − but its beauty is in its presentation of wonder and the eternal solace of affection.

The Little House in the Big Woods
By Laura Ingalls Wilder
You may not think boys would be interested in The Little House in the Big Woods, but this story is about children surviving a Minnesota winter in a log cabin, and any boy can appreciate that. Wilder started these books as a way for her to tell her daughter about her family history. The language is clear and kind without any taint of righteous nostalgia that can creep into stories about the way things were in the past.

Young Adults
Ender’s Game
By Orson Scott Card
This futuristic novel focuses on Ender Wiggin, a boy genius, and his acceleration through Battle School. The Earth has been ravaged by two battles with The Buggers. Anticipating another attack and knowing that winning is imperative, the government rests their hopes for survival on Ender’s shoulders. A plot summary of the novel reads like a bad pilot on the SciFi channel, but the humanity with which Ender interprets the ethical and moral issues implicit in war and society elevates the story beyond such clichés.

The Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins
This novel, also set in the future, focuses on Katniss Everdeen, who is coerced to participate in a government-sponsored race for survival. The race is nationally televised and, like American Idol, participants must court the audience’s favor to proceed to the next level. One reviewer called it “the right book for the right time” in its exploration of issues like how media saturation and socioeconomic imbalances influence a society.

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JESSAMYN AYERS writes and lives in Loudoun County with her husband and two children. The perfect day for her includes some combination of reading, writing, running, working with her dogs and baseball. She is currently working on a novel.