Review: Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte's Web
by E.B. White
Published by HarperCollins
Publication Date October 1, 2001
Source: Gift
Genres: Childrens
Goodreads

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter.

E. B. White's Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come. This edition contains color illustrations by Garth Williams, the acclaimed illustrator of E.B. White's Stuart Little and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, among many other books.

I read Charlotte’s Web to pieces when I was growing up.  I loved the camaraderie between the spider and “Some Pig”.  Now as a twenty-something I was still enchanted by Fern, Charlotte, Wilbur and even Templeton, only this time I was a little less with Wilbur.  The whining and squealing was more than I could bear and I’m not sure how Charlotte put up with it.  Yes, for a pig Wilbur was lovable and I wouldn’t want him to turn into bacon, but he fainted one too many times and SOPed (save our pig) to the point of redundancy.

View Spoiler »Charlotte dies. E.B. White put a much bigger focus on her death than I remembered there being and did quite a bit of foreshadowing. While I was reading and heard Charlotte’s coughs and her inevitable good-bye to Wilbur I was touched and wasn’t quite ready to leave the fair, and then to find out she died alone? It was too much for my delicate sensibilities. I had to take a breather before I finished this children’s story. « Hide Spoiler

I liked how the ending showed the circle of life with each season being anew, it buoyed my spirits a bit and left me radiant.  Charlotte’s Web is in my opinion a classic children’s tale and is simply terrific.