Charlotte’s Web

By E.B.White

Author: E. B. White Illustrator: Garth Williams Genre: Children Published: 15 Oct 1952 Pages: 192

Author EB White, a humorist and elegant essayist who wrote for the New Yorker and Esquire and wrote The Elements of Style, wrote two other classic children's books, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. But Charlotte's Web — an adventure story set mostly in a barn, a tale of friendship, farm life parties, and more — is arguably his best work.

The story begins with Fern Arable rescuing a pig dung dwarf, Wilbur, from a certain slaughter. Fern cares for the pigs, who beat the odds and survive — which is a theme for Wilbur. Mr. Arable, afraid that his daughter will become too attached to the animals raised for slaughter, sends Wilbur to the nearby farm of Fern's uncle, Mr. Zuckerman.

Wilbur settled in his new home. At first, he is lonely and misses Fern, but he settles down when he meets a spider named Charlotte and other animals, including Templeton, a scavenger rat. When Wilbur learns of his fate—pigs are raised to be bacon—Charlotte devises a plan to help him.

He made a net over Wilbur's cage that read: "Some Pig." Mr. Zucker saw his work and considered it a miracle. Charlotte continues to twist her words, using Templeton to return the labels so she can copy words like "Great" over Wilbur's pigsty.

When Wilbur is taken to a country fair, Charlotte and Templeton leave to continue their work, as Charlotte spreads a new message. The result attracts a lot of people and Charlotte's plan to save Wilbur's life pays off.

However, at the fair weekend, Charlotte bids farewell to Wilbur. He's dying. But he entrusted his friend with the sack of eggs he had spun. Heartbroken, Wilbur brought the eggs back to the farm and saw that they had hatched. Three of Charlotte's "children" live with Wilbur, who lives happily with Charlotte's descendants.