32 classic books for parents and kids to read together

How does a book become a classic? Experts say it鈥檚 through a combination of literary merit and the hard, timeless questions the stories raise 鈥� notions about choices, about class and society, about personal responsibility, about how societies are sustained and how they collapse, as well as about themes of interpersonal relationships and of love, as in the perennially popular 鈥淩omeo and Juliet.鈥�

Consider 鈥淭he Great Gatsby,鈥� suggests Nancy Carr, senior development editor at Great Books Foundation. Its enduring place in American canon, she said, derives from F. Scott Fitzgerald鈥檚 ability to deal in a complex way with such questions as identity, selfhood, professed values versus the values revealed through action, responsibility to self and others and so forth. Such a book, she says is 鈥渋nexhaustible. You can鈥檛 distill it down and say 鈥渢his is the theme鈥ou can keep revisiting it over a lifetime.鈥�

You don鈥檛 need an English degree for you and your children to read books simultaneously. Starting at the middle school level, experts say, there are plenty of classic titles sophisticated enough to hold parents鈥� attention yet accessible enough for kids.

Much like grown-up book club buddies, families can鈥檛 help but learn more about each other as they share literature. Your child may come to appreciate your fascination with plot while you鈥檙e delighted to discover that she鈥檚 mature enough to really understand metaphor. Maybe you savor a lovely, melodic, description while he helps you relish gritty dialogue.

What鈥檚 more, in adolescence, when relationships can be strained, a fictional situation may give you or your child just the neutral opening you need to broach a sensitive issue without having to address it directly.

Rachel Claff, editorial director of the Great Books Foundation鈥檚 K-12 programs, suggests that parents who want to read with their children begin by piggybacking on the reading lists already being offered by their schools.

The Great Books Foundation web site provides some for discussion, and the Young Adult Library Services Association pairs classics with contemporary .

Here is a list of 32 suggested book titles from the Great Books Foundation, provided by the Editorial Director of K-12 Programs Rachel Claff and Senior Development Editor Nancy Carr:

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32 classic books for parents and kids to read together

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