Like that definition of a cardigan - something a child should put on when a parent is cold - the word classic sometimes carries with it earnest, worthwhile and dull associations. But classic can also be the most reliable guide in terms of what is best. Think Alice, Willows, Naughty Little Sister, Milly-Molly-Mandy, Wardrobe or Christmas Carol and memorable worlds come to life. There's no argument. Classics and Christmas go together. And the specialness of the season calls for special books, deep armchairs, real fires, the curtains drawn.
For the very young, there's Reading is Fun with Dr Seuss (Collins £12.99 UK), a handsome, sturdy hardback containing four of the best of Dr Seuss. Eyes and ears are hopping and popping from page one: a flying puppy, a delighted bird and "UP PUP Pup is up". There's full colour throughout, marvellous illustrations, playful typography and, as you read on, busier pages and bigger words, even "Constantinople" and "Timbuktu" ("My father can read big words, too, like . . ."). It's the perfect companion for babies and toddlers and a real delight for older ones to read aloud. With Seuss, the pleasure of reading is immediate, so much so that the little ones will soon want to read for themselves. Without knowing it we learn about colour, landscape, music, animals, the magical and the surreal ("You can think about red./You can think about pink./You can think up a horse./Oh, the THINKS you can think!") and it's fresh as the day it was written. Have your child visit this doctor.
Next, another doctor. This time Dr Dolittle of Puddle-by-on-the-Marsh. First published in 1920 and, like all true classics, never out of print, Hugh Lofting's The Story of Doctor Dolittle (Bodley Head £12.99 UK) is known even to those who have not yet read the story. There's the fantastic company of Dab-Dab, the duck; Jip, the dog; Gub-Gub, the baby pig; Polynesia, the parrot; and the owl Too-Too. Dr Dolittle travels to Africa, "sailing on and on, over the rolling sea" and his discovery of the "now extinct" pushmi-pullyu and his meeting with Barbaby pirates provide excitement. Dolittle's good deeds - the pirates become farmers and grow seeds for canaries - and his kindness are cheering: "the pushmi-pullyu shall never be shut up in a cage". Lofting's original drawings are included in this edition but there are also full-page, beautiful, brightly-coloured illustrations by Robin Preiss Glasser.
Dozens of books have focused on the second World War but Michelle Magorian's Goodnight Mister Tom (Puffin £5.99 UK) is exceptional for its psychological depth and emotional power. Serious issues are dealt with sensitively. Magorian's characters are unforgettable and I've yet to meet a 12-year old who didn't think it brilliant. Like Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, it leads young readers imaginatively and carefully towards the complexities and difficulties of adulthood. Though published relatively recently (1981) it has already and deservedly earned classic status.
John Buchan's The Thirty-nine Steps sold 25,000 copies in three months when it was first published in 1915 and has sold steadily ever since. Now reissued by Everyman in its admirable Children's Classic series, it looks and feels truly beautiful: embossed, clothbound (strokable!) covers, ribboned bookmark, stylish endpapers, moody illustrations, very attractive typeface and paper all make this one to treasure. And the story itself could not disappoint. With elements of espionage, intrigue, disguise, danger, suspense - at one stage the hero Richard Hannay dynamites his way out of captivity - and set on the brink of the first World War, this atmospheric novel, with a plot faster than James Bond, still holds its own. Easy to see why Hitchcock filmed it. It's an excellent one for winning young adolescents over to quality writing and at £9.99 (UK) it's superb value.
It's difficult to remember a pre-Harry Potter time and yet it was only in 1997 that the boy with the bolt-of-lightning scar whooshed around the world like a cosmic wind (translated into 30 languages). Do we need magic in our lives? Do we what. The Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry founded in 1,000 AD is where it's at. There are three books so far and J. K. Rowling has promised four more. Muggles everywhere should read these books - especially if you don't know you're a muggle.
Instinctively suspicious of sequels, I was proved wrong by William Horwood's The Willows at Christmas (Harper Collins, £12.99 in UK). . This is Horwood's fourth book honouring Kenneth Grahame's 1908 classic, The Wind in the Willows. It's beautifully produced, with gorgeously old-fashioned illustrations, and is a totally engaging, warming and feel-good experience. "Only three days till Christmas Eve" and there's a malaise along the riverbank and the village is in crisis. The rude, grasping, bullying, Mrs Ffleshe blights every possibility of happiness but Mole saves all and puts the heart back into Christmas. Definitely one for the stocking. A last word from Mole: "A Happy Christmas to you all, my dears, and to all who love you!"
Niall MacMonagle teaches English at Wesley College, Dublin. The collection of stories for teenagers, Outside In - Stories to Grow Up With, edited by him, has just been reissued.