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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
I read this book as a kid and loved it. Even as an adult, rereading it with my daughter, I thought it was very funny. It is a great read-a-loud that kids enjoy and learn from.
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I was just thinking about this book again, and trying to figure out why I like it so much. I can think of two very worthwhile themes in this book that I am glad my daughter has been exposed to.
1: Life is beautiful. From the very beginning of the book, when Fern saves Wilber from death, the book celebrates life. Wilbur is a kind and lively creature, and Charlotte is a wise spider, who attempts to teach him (and all of us) that life is worth preserving. Even the Doctor, who is not a major character, shares some valuable information about how miraculous life is, how beautiful and how worth preserving.
2. Life is short, and death is a part of it. This book introduces death to children in a very meaningful yet harmless way. Readers learn about life, yes, but also about how it ends.
It is a beautiful book. There are many reasons why it is such a beloved classic that is read every generation.
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I was just thinking about this book again, and trying to figure out why I like it so much. I can think of two very worthwhile themes in this book that I am glad my daughter has been exposed to.
1: Life is beautiful. From the very beginning of the book, when Fern saves Wilber from death, the book celebrates life. Wilbur is a kind and lively creature, and Charlotte is a wise spider, who attempts to teach him (and all of us) that life is worth preserving. Even the Doctor, who is not a major character, shares some valuable information about how miraculous life is, how beautiful and how worth preserving.
2. Life is short, and death is a part of it. This book introduces death to children in a very meaningful yet harmless way. Readers learn about life, yes, but also about how it ends.
It is a beautiful book. There are many reasons why it is such a beloved classic that is read every generation.
Read aloud to my daughters. We just loved the relationship between Wilbur and Charlotte.
How have I never read this? Freaking adorable. Sometimes, you read the "classics," and they don't always hold up to the hype. This children's book certainly did. I hope this book stays on shelves for years to come and children keep wanting to pick it up.
Had only ever watched the cartoon as a kid and the live-action film as an adult, never read the book. It's good and so very English. It's sad and funny and poetic and the illustrations are great.
fast-paced
I was not prepared for this wonderful spider and her pig friend to make me tear up ummmmm anyway
Such a good book. A great story if friendship and devotion. And no matter how many times I read it, I will always cry at the end. And my kids loved it, too. C
Re-read Charlotte's Web for the first time in approximately 40 years, this time with my 6 year old son. I read it with some trepidation, as beginning to read Little House in the Big Woods with him was so disappointing, both due to the less than stellar writing and most urgently to the disgusting racism...we didn't finish it and he hasn't asked for it. I was a bit worried that re-reading Charlotte's Web would be similar...but I was pleasantly surprised to find it as rich and beautiful as I did 40 years ago, enjoying through my child's eyes the humor in so many scenes and unique perspective of this lovely pig and his friendship with a spider.
I did warn my son ahead of time that the book had a very sad ending, and I think he feared for most of the book that it would be Wilbur, so the death itself was less upsetting to him than I had worried it might be. He did have one of only a handful of nightmares in his life the night after we finished that chapter, so it definitely affected him deeply. But I think the experience of reading it together was wonderful for both of us, and it's a great relief that a childhood favorite is a favorite for my own child, too.
I did warn my son ahead of time that the book had a very sad ending, and I think he feared for most of the book that it would be Wilbur, so the death itself was less upsetting to him than I had worried it might be. He did have one of only a handful of nightmares in his life the night after we finished that chapter, so it definitely affected him deeply. But I think the experience of reading it together was wonderful for both of us, and it's a great relief that a childhood favorite is a favorite for my own child, too.
My favorite of White's books for kids has always been [b:The Trumpet of the Swan|24335|The Trumpet of the Swan|E.B. White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388308307s/24335.jpg|1835542]. It has probably been decades since I read Charlotte, but it returned to my TBR pile when I found out that E.B. White read the audiobook himself (same for Trumpet of the Swan, but I don't think he narrated [b:Stuart Little|138959|Stuart Little|E.B. White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347367311s/138959.jpg|2884160]). I love his New England accent.
It's a lovely story, though part of me can't help feeling a bit like Charlotte got shortchanged. At one point, someone even says something like "that's one special pig, I mean it's not like the spider wrote those messages, ha ha." Sheesh. However, all of the characters are great, the language and writing is wonderful, and there's a lot of existential stuff to ponder.
It's a lovely story, though part of me can't help feeling a bit like Charlotte got shortchanged. At one point, someone even says something like "that's one special pig, I mean it's not like the spider wrote those messages, ha ha." Sheesh. However, all of the characters are great, the language and writing is wonderful, and there's a lot of existential stuff to ponder.
Such a great book. Teaches you about the most important things in life: Love, Friendship, Self-love and Death. I read this now in my late 20's and made me tear up a little because, really we're lucky to be able to experience life to its fullest.