I still think K&R C is good for newbies. While C has changed, the basic subset is probably the same. And I would think that the stuff that's discussed is appropriate (perhaps with translation) to C-like languages. Otherwise, "how to program in Python" would be a good topic as long as it refers to the current version.
But it's the concepts not the grammar. If there was still a Basic floating about, it would still be useful learning that as a means of realizing ideas in code. Perhaps Python can be that simple?