Bowls of cheerios should be taken to the garbage and dumped like so much trash.

Finally, someone who understands why classical books should not be read by teenagers - they're an absolute chore to read. The sentences are long and complex, the words are usually archaic, and the plot is full of allusions to historical fact which the children have not even come across yet.

Stephen Moss makes this recommendation: "Why not take the latest example of chick lit and analyse it; or compare JK Rowling with CS Lewis; or take a leaf out of Christopher Ricks's book and study the language of pop lyrics?" I second it.

Children must learn to love to read. You can't love reading if you have had to drudge through "classic" lit.