Rediscovering the Classics this Summer

Well, summer reading programs are already underway in libraries across the nation, an annual tradition and a great way to keep kids from suffering summer learning loss. But while some libraries specify certain books and others simply reward kids for hours of reading, parents should, if they already don't, pick those old-fashioned classics over more recent fare for their children's summer reading list.

While there are no doubt good books out there published in the last three or four decades, most don't hold a candle to those like Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. And while PBSKids.org, video games, and movies are no doubt enticing, the benefits or reading classical literature can't be underestimated.

The quality of the language is one, in my view. My kids are currently into the revamped Nancy Drew series, which is written the way many kids talk. That's fine, but it doesn't expose them to a higher level of vocabulary, or for the most part, new ideas and out-of-the box thinking.

Contrast this with books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (another classic), which not only features creative and novel ideas (e.g. Oompa Loompas), but stirs the imagination and offers rich descriptions of the world being painted. Here's an example from the above-mentioned Roald Dahl book: "Graceful trees and bushes were growing along the riverbanks-weeping willows and alders and tall clumps of rhododendrons with their pink and red and mauve blossoms. In the meadows there were thousands of buttercups." And that's not just descriptive writing, but a science lesson on plants should you choose to make it one.

And lest you fear your techno-savvy kids could never enjoy older books, remember that the reason classics are classics is less because of the specific time and context of the story and more because they powerfully evoke timeless themes and emotions. That means even a Wii-addicted seven-year-old will cry when reading about Charlotte dying, and a Netflix-happy nine-year-old can wonder at Willy Wonka's incredible chocolate factory.

From a social perspective, classics for younger kids also have less of the stuff many of us parents worry about when looking for good books for our children. That includes themes focused heavily on dating and boy/girl relationships, as well as cleaner language.

So, pull up your library's online search catalog and make those requests today. Here are a couple of classics I'll be getting for my kids insha Allah:

1. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
2. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
3. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater
4. The Wind in the willows by Kenneth Grahame
5. The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrice Potter
6. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
7. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
8. Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
9. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
10.The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

I'd appreciate any additional suggestions on classical books for kids.