What a gorgeous book Charlotte’s Web is! I first read this children’s literature classic by E.B. White as a child but didn’t really remember what happened, so when I recently picked it up again, it was like discovering it fresh. First published in 1952, Charlotte’s Web is a true delight from start to finish, I really loved it and my sons did too.
Opening sentence: ‘Where’s Papa going with that axe?’ said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
Fern, Wilbur and Charlotte
While the title would imply the central character is in indeed Charlotte (a spider), that honour actually goes to Wilbur (a pig). The runt of the litter, the farmer is about the kill him when the farmer’s daughter, Fern steps in and begs to save his life. She bottles feeds him and then Wilbur is sent to live on her uncle’s farm.
She visits him all the time and loves being in the barn with the sheep, geese, cows, horses – and Templeton the rat! – who become Wilbur’s friends. He makes a super-special friend though, Charlotte the spider.
No pig ever had truer friends, and he realised that friendship is one of the most satisfying things in the world.
Upon discovering that pigs are eventually slaughtered, Wilbur falls into despair, but Charlotte comes to the rescue as she hatches a plan to save him and ensure he lives a long life.
The real star is Charlotte (and her web)
As an adult reader of Charlotte’s Web, you really appreciate the extra elements layered into the plot and structure. For example, Charlotte is a great little character. She’s got sass, kindness and truly is a fountain of knowledge – often explaining words to Wilbur, and by default the young readers of the book, that he hasn’t heard before, like gullible and salutations. It’s a clever way to help expand their (the readers) vocabulary. (Side note: this book was indeed my first exposure to the word salutations when I read it as a child.)
Also, Fern’s parents are worried about her stories of talking animals and think she needs to hang out more with other kids rather than in a barn. It’s at that point you realise the whole thing could be Fern’s imagination, so it works on that level too.
I also learnt a lot about spiders and how they spin webs, which was fascinating! The writing style in Charlotte’s Web wasn’t complex but was quite beautiful and descriptive at times:
On foggy mornings, Charlotte’s web was truly a thing of beauty. This morning each thin strand was decorated with dozens of tiny beads of water. The web glistened in the light and made a pattern of loveliness and mystery, like a delicate veil.
Charlotte’s Web doesn’t shy away form life and death and broke my heart a little, had me smiling in other spots, was educational and had a beautiful moral message. It was just a delight all round to read.
The illustrations by Garth Williams are wonderful and detailed and really add to the reading experience too.
