Charlotte's Web

Title: “Charlotte’s Web”

Author: E. B. White                                                                        

Genre:                  Fantasy                                                                                               

Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher                                           

Copyright Date: 1974

Pages in Book: 192

Reading Level: 1-5 grade

Summary: John Arable has a farm, and on it, his pig gives birth to a litter of piglets. He quickly discovers that there is a runt in the litter, and decides to kill it. Luckily for the pig (Wilbur, the main character in the book) John’s daughter, Fern begs her father to let the pig live. Wilbur grows up, and after a little while is moved to Fern’s Uncle Homer’s farm. Wilbur becomes lonely, but one night he hears a voice saying that he has a new friend, Charlotte. It’s not long until Wilbur hears that he’s going to be killed and eaten at Christmas. Charlotte comes up with the idea to start writing characteristics of Wilbur, making him famous, and saving him from being Christmas dinner. Not only is he saved, but he goes to a Country Fair where he wins a prize. Unfortunately, Charlotte becomes pregnant, and after giving birth to all her children, she dies. After hatching, all of Charlotte’s children leave to create a life on their own. The only three that stay are Aranea, Nellie, and Joy, all who become great friends of Wilbur’s.

Reaction: I think this was a wonderful book. I partially grew up on a farm, so there was some understanding at having to kill the runt of the litter. I was extremely saddened when Charlotte died, and it was hard to read past that, because I couldn’t see how there was a happy ending to this story.

Recommendation: I probably wouldn’t recommend this story to children under 3 or 4^th grade. I just don’t think that it’s appropriate for the children, and they might not understand a lot of it.

Potential Problems/Conflicts: My main problem with the story is the age factor. A lot of children, I feel, would have to have things explained to them such as, having to kill the runt of the litter, and the fact that after spiders give birth, they die. Not many children would understand this, and may not like this book, which honestly would be a pity, because it’s a great read.