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munchin 's review for:
Charlotte's Web
by E.B. White
Annotation:
A young pig's life is saved by a Charlotte, a wise spider. Through Charlotte, the pig learns important lessons about friendship and loss.
Review:
Perhaps the most striking aspect of E.B. White's 1952 classic Charlotte's Web is abundance of endearing, clearly-drawn characters. White's tale of friendship, altruism and loss rings very true because of how quickly the reader comes to care for and identify with the characters. Despite being written for children, each character has charming and distinct traits and idiosyncracies.
The story is of a young, lonely pig who befriends a wise spider who saves the pig from being slaughtered by weaving kind words about the pig in her web above the pigpen. The themes explored by White, however, are perhaps more important than the plot. Charlotte's Web not only deals with the friendship between the pig and the spider but seriously addresses issues of death, growing up and loneliness in what might be one of a child's initial serious encounters with those ideas. The handling of these serious topics is very powerful, again, because of the closeness the reader feels to the characters as well as the strength of E.B. White's prose. Though the primary audience for this book is children, White is not afraid to throw in the occasional multi-syllabic word or situations that would not be familiar to small children. The book attempts to relate to children but without talking down to them. This is perhaps its greatest success.
A young pig's life is saved by a Charlotte, a wise spider. Through Charlotte, the pig learns important lessons about friendship and loss.
Review:
Perhaps the most striking aspect of E.B. White's 1952 classic Charlotte's Web is abundance of endearing, clearly-drawn characters. White's tale of friendship, altruism and loss rings very true because of how quickly the reader comes to care for and identify with the characters. Despite being written for children, each character has charming and distinct traits and idiosyncracies.
The story is of a young, lonely pig who befriends a wise spider who saves the pig from being slaughtered by weaving kind words about the pig in her web above the pigpen. The themes explored by White, however, are perhaps more important than the plot. Charlotte's Web not only deals with the friendship between the pig and the spider but seriously addresses issues of death, growing up and loneliness in what might be one of a child's initial serious encounters with those ideas. The handling of these serious topics is very powerful, again, because of the closeness the reader feels to the characters as well as the strength of E.B. White's prose. Though the primary audience for this book is children, White is not afraid to throw in the occasional multi-syllabic word or situations that would not be familiar to small children. The book attempts to relate to children but without talking down to them. This is perhaps its greatest success.