Marino says that some books, such as Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows and Charlotte's Web, have universal themes and can be read aloud to children as young as five or six, even though the reading level of the material is geared to children in the fifth or sixth grade.

"Because of the universality of the story and the fact that these stories have stood the test of time, they are classics," she says. "They can inspire children to want to read more good books because the characters are people the kids can identify with, and the stories are so wonderful."

Choosing Quality Literature

For parents looking for age-appropriate classic material for their children, Dee Sockol-Frye, former bookstore owner and current storyteller and children's department manager at the Holmdel, New Jersey, Barnes and Noble, says that parents should do a little reading about children's literature and should also ask themselves what it is they would like to encourage in their child.

"The parents need guidelines to help them choose books for their kids, and there are a lot of books about books available," she says. "Jim Trelease has one called Read All About It, Susan Straub has a book called Reading with Babies, Toddlers and Twos. These books introduce parents to the classics for different children's age groups."

In that same vein, not every literary classic is appropriate for every age group. Marino stresses the need for parental discretion when choosing a child's reading material, since attempting to introduce long chapter books with complicated plot lines may frustrate younger children and turn them off to literature in general.