Hey, I’m the messenger here!
I have gotten my nieces into reading the classics. It was not that they were not interested but that they never knew that they were out there. Unless they are on the shelf in your house the kids will not pick them up to read.
Interesting tidbit, I picked up Dean Koontz "The Dead Town" the other day. It is dedicated "To the memory of Gilbert K Chesterton who presented wisdom and hard truths in the most appealing package, changing countless lives with kindness and a smile".
You find fellow fans in some of the oddest places.