Monday, November 29, 2010

Charlotte's Web

White, E. B. (1952). Charlotte's Web. HarperCollins Publishers.

Plot: Wilbur is the runt of his litter of piglets, and when Mr. Arable the farmer decides to kill Wilbur, his daughter Fern begs him not to. It works, and it was love at first for Wilbur and Fern. When Wilbur gets older he is sold to Mr. Zuckerman and goes to live on his farm. Fern visits him as often as she can, but Wilbur is miserable and lonely, and then he hears a warm voice that belongs to Charlotte, a spider. They become good friends, but when Wilbur learns that the farmer plans to kill him to have him for dinner, he retirns to being miserable. Charlotte comes up witha plan to show Wilbur off as special, hoping this would save his life. She wrote "Some Pig" in her web, and an astonished Zuckerman did not kill Wilbur. She continued to write messages about Wilbur, and he soon became famous.

Genre: Fantasy, friendship

Suggested Reading Level: Grades 4-6

Subjects/themes: Friendship, farm life, death, animals, pigs, growing up, spiders.

Awards:
  • Newbery Honor Book
  • American Library Association Notable Book
  • Horn Book Fanfare
  • Massachusetts Children's Book Award
  • Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
Also by E. B. White:
  • Stuart Little
  • The Trumpet of the Swan

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