If your mother-daughter book club doesn’t meet in the summer, this may be a good time for you to pick up a classic, either to read on your own or for a book club meeting scheduled for the fall. For most clubs, this is the one time of year you can devote to reading longer novels, and there may even be more time for moms and daughters to read a book together. This can be an advantage since many classics were written long ago and may not be as easy for young readers to grasp. Most titles will be readily available on the shelves of your library, where you’ll find yourself anyway if you’ve signed up for a summer reading program.

Here are some thoughts for classics in different age groups:

Younger readers

Caddie Woodlawn–Carol Ryrie Brink
Charlotte’s Web–E. B. White
Little House on the Prairie–Laura Ingalls Wilder
Matilda–Roald Dahl
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle–Betty MacDonald
The Boxcar Children–Edith Nesbitt
The Indian in the Cupboard–Lynne Reid Banks
The Secret Garden–Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Trumpet of the Swan–E. B. White
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz–L. Frank Baum

Middle Readers

A Wrinkle in Time–Madeleine L’Engle
Anne of Green Gables–L. M Montgomery
Little Women–Louisa May Alcott
Peter Pan–J. M. Barrie
The Call of the Wild–Jack London
The Hobbit–J. R. R. Tolkein
The Jungle Book–Rudyard Kipling
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe–C. S. Lewis
To Kill a Mockingbird–Harper Lee
Treasure Island–Robert Louis Stevenson

Older Readers

A Tale of Two Cities–Charles Dickens
David Copperfield –Charles Dickens
Dracula–Bram Stoker
Huckleberry Finn–Mark Twain
Jane Eyre–Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice–Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility–Jane Austen
The Count of Monte Cristo–Alexandre Dumas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame–Victor Hugo
Wuthering Heights–Emily Bronte