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Summary: Charlotte's Web
Review: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White is an awesome book to read no matter what age you are. This Newberry Honor Book tells us about two extraordinary friendships. These friendships are Wilbur and Fern's and Wilbur and Charlotte's. The first friendship White writes for us is of Fern and Wilbur's love for each other. Fern saved Wilbur from being killed because he was a runt and because of that, the two became best friends and inseparable. As life goes on and Fern grows older, Wilbur finds him a new best friend in the barn of which he lives. Her name is Charlotte and she, like Fern, also saved Wilbur's life.
This was one of my favorite books in elementary school and it is still one of my favorites to this day. Children are able to read this book and feel connections through this book with the relationships of the characters. Not only the best friends of Fern, Wilbur, and Charlotte, but also the other relationships such as Templeton helping Charlotte save Wilbur's life. Without Templeton, Charlotte wouldn't have had the lettering to weave into her web. This teaches children that you may not always want to do something, but if it's for the better of someone else, you probably should. Templeton was greedy with his food and life but he put aside (grumpily) his greed for a few moments to find these words for Charlotte and Wilbur.
When I become a teacher, I thought about reading this book to my classes so they can listen to such a wonderful book. I started thinking about some lessons to tie in with reading the book aloud and I thought of a social studies lesson with the types of occupations when the book takes place. Farming was a big occupation in these days and I want my students to know that all the jobs available now were not available during the setting of the book. I also thought of reviewing different farm animals and letting students pick a farm animal to do a mini project on. I think students would have so much fun researching this stuff on the computer, and while they do not know it, they will be learning how to use the internet to search their topics. When we are finished reading the book, I will have my students write a story about their favorite farm animal in the book or write a story about how they would save their best friends life.
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Summary: Charlott's Web
Review: E.B. White introduced fantasy to many young readers. Wilbur, the main character, was a pig that was not wanted because he was a runt. Fern took care of Wilbur then sold him to her Unlce Zuckerman who owns a farm. Wilber met many animals, but finds himself lonely. Wilbur sat in his barn stall all alone. He asked the animals if they would like to be his friend. Only one answered and it was Charlotte the spider. Wilbur must struggle with the idea that he might be dinner.
Charlotte had an idea that would save Wilbur's life. She decided to weave words into her web such as, "Some Pig" and "Radiant". For the first time in Wilbur's life he feels wanted. Many people came to Zuckerman's farm to see this "miracle".
Wilbur was characterized as a sweet, loving, pig that wanted friends. This appealed to many young readers because it would allow them to appreciate the friends they have. This terrific book showed children the importance of friendship and what it means to be a friend.
This Newbery Honor book contained loneliness, happiness, and some humor that readers would enjoy.
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Summary: My Book Review Of Charlotte's Web
Review: "Where is Papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. This story is about a girl who really loves her little animal. At first, Fern's little animal was always teased by other farm animals. Will the little animal still be teased by anybody? The little animal is a pig named Wilbur. He was a little pig who has no mother. Nobody but Fern takes care of him. Wilbur is very unfamous until.........I enjoy reading Charlotte's Web for a number of reasons. First is that the book is a very wonderful book for children ages seven and up. Also it is a great book that explains why the animal is sad or not. I think it'll be a great book for children to read. E.B. White also makes the animals talk in real life. This book tells why Wilbur is unhappy. I can't relate this book to any other books because the other books don't tell why that person or animal is sad. But this book does. My favorite part of the book is when Wilbur got a prize. I was also glad when Wilbur got a friend. (A "best " friend.) I like Wilbur's friend because she had always helped Wilbur with his problems. My other favorite part is when Wilbur was a baby because he looked so cute. One part I dislike is when Wilbur's best friend had died. That part was so sad. I thought that Wilburs friend (best) will not die but to my surprise, the friend did! I was so unhappy. If you're a fan of animal books, read this book! I had really sad feelings because nobody should die in this story, but it did. I should recommend this book for kids in second grade and up. You should also read E.B.White's other books such as Stuart Little and The Trumpet Of The Swan. They're great! Check it out!
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Summary: Read (or Be Read) This Descriptive Children's Classic
Review: Can't imagine saying something about E.B. White's children's classic "Charlotte's Web" that 148 others here (more around the world) have not. But experiencing it twice (having it read to me in fifth grade nearly 30 years ago, and reading it to my daughter recently) has allowed me to greater appreciate the book's meaning and accomplishment. Many children will never experience life on a farm or visit a county fair (the two major book settings). White and his illustrators picture that life sensually and beautifully. The story of Wilbur (pig) and Charlotte's (spider's)friendship, what she does to save him, the toll it takes on her, and her eventual legacy, recalls the unconditional love mothers have for their children. (Fern, the Arables' daughter who saves Wilbur's life at the start, retreats from the storyline as her interest shifts from animals to boys.) All this is told amidst word backgrounds of warm summer days, dank cellars, midways filled with discarded food and paper, cellar barns filled by scents of straw, manure, and slops. (Who but White could've described the leftovers fed to Wilbur and actually make them sound delicious?) White's gift for character also shows most interestingly in the rat Templeton, who many may identify with. Tough, clever, self-serving, defensive, but valiant in the end, he adds much needed sour spike to essential scenes that may have otherwise been too sweet (his negotiation with Wilbur over Charlotte's egg sac is one example) Templeton's self-desciption at book's end of "living for the pleasures of the feast," summarize in a way what makes life and what we do for each other in it worth the trouble. Essential reading for children and adults.
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Summary: Fascinating
Review: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White is a fascinating book. The story takes place in a barn. There is a gentle and kind girl named Fern who meets a pig named Wilbur, who is sensitive and tries to help everyone out. Wilbur became friends with animals in a sticky situation. Wilbur finds a friend named Charlotte that tries to weave a solution to help save Wilbur's life. If the reader wants to find out more on Charlotte's Web you must read this book for yourself.
This book makes the reader think and will make the reader realize that this is a must read book. This book will make you think about what a pig lives through as it grows wondering if it will be come dinner. This book will make you realize that if you think something is going wrong, never give up, always try to fix it. Charlotte's Web will make the reader be on the edge of their seats not wanting to put down the book until it was finished. As you can see Charlotte's Web is a must read book.
E.B. White is an amazing author who wrote Charlotte's Web. E.B. White was born in 1899 and died in 1985, which made him 86 years old when he died. His full name was Elwyn Brooks White. White's career brought him much fame. Before he started writing books he became a writer for the New Yorker Magazine. In 1945 White published his stories into books. When White was young, he was embarrassed to speak in public. As you can see Charlotte's Web is a must read book to those readers who have not read this book.
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Summary: Charlotte's Web
Review: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White is a wonderful book. It definitely deserves five stars. Kids around second or third grade will love it! It's a great book for kids who are just learning how to read bigger chapter books.
In the book one of the main characters is Fern who stops her dad from killing the runt pig of the liter. She names him Wilbur. She plays with him and feeds him from a bottle, but after about six months, Wilbur is to big for Fern to care for him, so she has to give Wilbur away to her uncle, Mr. Zuckerman, who lives on a farm. Wilbur is very lonely until a spider named Charlotte befriends him. One day, a sheep tells Wilbur that Mr. Zuckerman will eventually kill him for the holidays to eat. Charlotte decides that she needs to help Wilbur.
Charlotte comes up with the idea to start writing things in her web such as Some Pig, Terrific, and Radiant. Mr. Zuckerman sees these messages and soon news is spreading everywhere about this 'Famous Pig.' People would come from many miles away, just to watch Wilbur. Mr. Zuckerman decides that he should enter Wilbur in the fair. On the day of the fair, Mrs. Zuckerman washes Wilbur in buttermilk, so he will look nice. As Wilbur climbs in the crate, Templeton the rat and Charlotte decide to come along. Wilbur ends up doing very well in the fair and gets a medal and a ribbon saying 'Zuckerman's Famous Pig.' But as Charlotte begins to finish laying her eggs while in Wilbur's crate, she becomes very ill. Will she live? What will happen to her children? Read Charlotte's Web by E.B. White and you'll find out!
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Summary: Some book
Review: For many a literary child, "Charlotte's Web" is the first sad book they read. It is an early reader story that looks death straight in the eye without blinking or making up wild stories. It is honest and pure and the best kind of book for adults or children. And I love it very much. The plot begins with the best possible opening sentence. "Where's Papa going with that axe?", said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. Papa is, of course, going out to kill Wilbur the runt piglet. Saving him from this fate, Fern takes a personal interest in the pig, raising him by hand until he is bought by her uncle. On the uncle's farm, Wilbur makes the acquaintance of Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful kind spider. The two grow to become good friends, and it is through Charlotte's cunning that she finds a way to ultimately save Wilbur from becoming bacon in the future. The book not only gives sympathy to pigs as adorable little creatures (as back flipping Wilbur, helped by Garth Williams's illustrations most certainly is) but also to spiders as well. Charlotte is beautifully written. A perfect lady with an amazing vocabulary, she is the height of poise and good manners. The grand dame of the barnyard. E.B. White brilliantly captures emotions that all children can identify with. Loneliness, fear, friendship, and love. The story is simple, but undoubtedly White's best. Disney approached White about animating "Charlotte's Web", an offer White adamantly refused. Years later the film was animated instead by a studio that was not Disney, making a truly terrible film out of a pretty spectacular book. This is for the best, though. Had Disney succeeded in getting the rights, we would probably be remembering the movie and not the book (much as when we think of Mary Poppins we forget it was once a story). Hence, "Charlotte's Web" remains a masterpiece. A quiet lovable masterpiece.
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Summary: No matter what age you are, you must read this book
Review: I am an English major at a private liberal arts college who spends her time reading many of the world's greatest pieces of literature and, still, this remains my favorite book.
Any hopeful writer should attempt to craft their work at E.B. White's level. For an author to be able to touch the lives of both children and adults through a passage of fifty years shows talent.
The book covers wonderful ideas such as friendship, sad facts such as death, but even contains many touches of humor (Check out the chapter entitled, "The Miracle": Charlotte has just written "some pig" in her web. Mr. Zuckerman quickly believes that Wilbur is no ordinary pig. His wife responds to his quick belief in the unusualness of the pig, by stating," 'It seems to me you're a little off. It seems to me we have no ordinary spider,'" to which Mr. Zuckerman responds, " 'Oh, no. It's the pig that's unusual. It says so, right there in the middle of the web.'").
So, stop waiting for kids to show up in your life and just sit down and read the book. You'll giggle, you'll cry, and at the end you'll agree that, "it's not often that someone comes along who is a good writer and a true friend. Charlotte was both."
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Summary: Endearing Characters, My 5 year old Loves Wilbur
Review: I missed reading this story in my youth, though I admit I read many of my sister's books growing up. My curiousity was peaked when I arrived home from work one day and found my 5 year old daughter pretending to be a pig. My wife had started reading this book aloud to her. We had to read three more chapters before bedtime. This was the longest she has sat still so far in her life. I actually couldn't resist staying up to read the rest myself. It is a very charming story for all ages. My little girl has been obsessed with fairies and dogs for some time, now she has added pigs to her interests. Thanks to this book, we are seeking a farm or petting zoo to visit soon.
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Summary: A Great Book about Friendship
Review: I must confess that having just read "Animal Farm" shortly before reading this book, I was a little hesitant about excepting this as a pure children's story without any hidden political agenda. I kept expecting the talking animals to rise up behind the pig and take over the farm. Rest assured however there was none of that, as E.B. White does a good job of keeping the story at a purely kids level. Wilber is the runt in a litter of pigs, and Mr. Arable the farmer is going to take him out back and have him slaughtered since as he says, "He is small and weak and will never amount to anything." His young daughter Fern who is eight, hears this and requests that her father give the pig to her to raise instead. The father wishing to prove a point to her, allows this so long as she promises to do all the work to take care of it. To Mr. Arable's surprise Fern does an excellent job of raising Wilber and he turns out to be "Some Pig", proving that even though he was very small he still could amount to something. As Wilber grows bigger the Arable's can no longer support feeding him, so Mr. Arable has Fern sell Wilber to her uncle Mr. Zuckerman who has a farm down the road. There she goes and visits Wilber every day. Being young I guess gives you the ability to sit and listen to the animals more intently than adults, and by doing so Fern is able to hear that the animals can actually talk and she understands them. (Being the father of two girls who are 7 and 5, I'd have to disagree somewhat with this logic as my girls never sit still, and certainly have a hard time listening at times, but for the sake of the story we'll just give them the benefit of the doubt.) Anywise Wilber meets all the other animals in the barn who are very nice, but none of them are really his close friend. He becomes lonely and wishes for a friend. A gray spider named Charlotte answers his prayers and after introducing herself, she becomes Wilber's best friend. When the other animals tell Wilber that Mr. Zuckerman is just fatting him up to eat him for Christmas, this makes him greatly disturbed. Charlotte being a great friend promises to do all she can to make Wilber so important to Mr. Zuckerman that he would change his mind. She sets a plan in action to weave messages into her web proclaiming how great the pig is, and by doing so she hopes to trick the adults into believing it as well. With the help of Templeton the rat she obtains some newspaper clippings and begins her work. Each new message in the web is looked upon as miracle, but rather than looking for any religious connection, the folks in the town just believe they have a very famous pig on their hands and accept it at face value. The suspense builds as Zuckerman takes Wilber to the Fair. If he can just win an award there, Charlotte knows his life will be saved. Charlotte and Templeton have to stow away in Wilber's crate just to accompany him to the Fair, and then when they get there the pig in the stall next to Wilber is twice as big and looks to be a shoe in for first prize. This book was obviously written at a much simpler time in history. At the Fair grounds the adults send the kids off on their own. Besides Fern who is 8, she has a little brother Avery who is only 5. After giving them all kinds of warnings such as not to eat too much, and to stay out of the sun, to not get dirty, and to be careful on the rides, the mother stops and says to the husband, "Do you think they'll be all right?" and he responds, "Well they have to grow up sometime." (None of the warnings were about staying away from strangers.) Of course when the kids returned they hadn't stayed out of the sun and were hot, and completely dirty, but they had fun. Fern meets a boy at the Fair, and starts to grow up a bit as playing with him starts to seem like more fun than talking to bunch of animals. It is a great book about overcoming obstacles even though you are very small, growing up, and most of all friendship. My girls loved the book as well, and especially seemed to like the illustrations by Garth Williams.
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