Pick shorter works first
Animal Farm, The Time Machine, The Little Prince, The Old Man and the Sea, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are good first classics because they are compact and memorable.
Choose familiar themes
Students often connect faster with books about ambition, friendship, justice, identity, or survival. Familiar themes make older language easier to handle.
Avoid accidental adaptations
Graphic novels, abridged editions, and study guides are common in classics searches. Buy those only when you specifically need that format.