By the staff at Covered Treasures
“A classic is a book that has never finished what it has to say.”—Italo Calvino
Classics are available for readers of all ages and stand the test of time. They are well worth revisiting (or reading for the first time) as we all move forward into 2024.
The Grapes of Wrath
By John Steinbeck (Penguin Classics) $18
First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family forced to travel west to the promised land of California. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America.
The Secret Garden
By Frances Hodgson Burnett (Harper Collins) $10
This gorgeous paperback includes Tasha Tudor’s iconic illustrations, an extended author biography, activities, and more, making it the perfect collector’s edition or a wonderful gift for young readers. When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle’s great house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds it full of secrets. The gardens surrounding the large property are Mary’s only escape. Then, Mary discovers a secret garden, surrounded by walls and locked with a missing key. With the help of two unexpected companions, Mary discovers a way in—and becomes determined to bring the garden back to life.
Stuart Little
By E.B. White (Harper Collins) $7
Stuart Little is no ordinary mouse. Born to a family of humans, he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George, and Snowbell the cat. Though he’s shy and thoughtful, he’s also a true lover of adventure. Stuart’s greatest adventure comes when his best friend, a beautiful little bird named Margalo, disappears from her nest. Stuart is determined to track her down and ventures away from home for the very first time in his life. He finds adventure aplenty. But will he find his friend? Whether you curl up with your young reader to share this book or hand it off for independent reading, you are helping to create what are likely to be all-time favorite reading memories.
West with the Night (A Memoir)
By Beryl Markham (North Point Press) $17
If the first responsibility of a memoirist is to lead a life worth writing about, Markham succeeded beyond all measure. Born Beryl Clutterbuck in the middle of England, she and her father moved to Kenya when she was a girl, and she grew up with a zebra for a pet; horses for friends; baboons, lions, and gazelles for neighbors. She made money by scouting elephants from a tiny plane. And she would spend most of the rest of her life in East Africa as an adventurer, a racehorse trainer, and an aviatrix—she became the first person to fly nonstop from Europe to America, the first woman to fly solo east to west across the Atlantic.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
By Betty Smith (Harper Perennial Classics) $19
From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for growing up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn, New York demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. By turns overwhelming, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans’ daily experiences are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness. Smith has created a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as deeply resonant moments of universal experience.
A Wrinkle in Time
By Madeleine L’Engle (Square Fish) $9
Late one night, three otherworldly creatures appear and sweep Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe away on a mission to save Mr. Murray, who has gone missing while doing top-secret work for the government. They travel via tesseract—a wrinkle that transports one across space and time—to where Mr. Murray is being held captive. There they discover a dark force that threatens not only Mr. Murray but the safety of the whole universe. A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet.
Until next month, happy reading.
The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.
Other xxx articles
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – February is Heart Month (2/4/2026)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Resolve to take care of yourself in 2026 (12/31/2025)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Consider the gift of reading (12/4/2025)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Remembering to be thankful (10/30/2025)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Reading is still fundamental (10/2/2025)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Get lost in a new book (9/3/2025)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Settle in for some Romance (7/31/2025)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Summer fun has begun (7/3/2025)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Let’s get cooking! (6/7/2025)
- Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Celebrating Poetry Month and Earth Day (4/5/2025)