Home > Media > Books > E. B. White, Peter F. (AFT) Neumeyer, Edith Goodkind Rosenwald, Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection (Library of Congress) - Charlotte's Web: Student Packet Grades 3-4
E. B. White, Edith Goodkind Rosenwald, Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection (Library of Congress) - Charlotte's Web: Student Packet Grades 3-4
mmcphee's Full Review: E. B. White, Peter F. (AFT) Neumeyer, Edith Goodki...
Anticipating the release of the movie Charlotte's Web we borrowed the classic book by E.B. White from the library.
The Story
The book tells the story of Wilbur the pig. He was born the runt of the litter and saved from an early death by 8 year old Fern. Once he was too big to be cared for at home Fern sells him to her uncle, so Wilbur goes to live on Zuckerman's farm. There he makes friends with a menagerie of animals in the barnyard, in particular a spider named Charlotte. When it becomes known that Wilbur is destined to be Christmas dinner, Charlotte devises a plan to save Wilbur's life.
And the Kids are how Old?
When trailers first began to appear for Charlotte's Web my daughters couldn't wait to go see the movie. I, on the other hand, wasn't thrilled with the idea of them going into the movie unprepared for some of the realities of farm life. I thumbed through the many condensed versions of the book published as part of the movie tie-in. They all seemed to gloss over the exact parts of the movie that I didn't want them to experience for the first time on the big screen. So, despite being only 3 1/2 and 5 I decided to give the original a try.
I hadn't read Charlotte's Web in at least 25 years. Most of my memories of the story come from the cartoon version shown on television when I was child. As we read the first few chapters I wasn't sure the book would hold my daughters' interest. The book immediately became a nightly bedtime request from both girls so my concerns eased as I realized that they were indeed ready for this story.
What We Learned
At its heart, Charlotte's Web is a story about friendship. A somewhat naive and often melancholy pig makes friends with a clever spider who is able to outwit the humans by weaving words into her web.
The story is a good example of brains versus brawn. Does size matter? It is the two smallest creatures in the barnyard, a spider and a rat who are instrumental in saving Wilbur's life. It is of course ironic that the former runt who narrowly avoided the ax at birth needs these other small creatures to spare his life again. None of the sheep, horses or other larger animals in the farmyard can do anything to help Wilbur. Templeton, the rat, has less than altruistic motives as he relies on eating some of Wilbur's slop for sustenance; if Wilbur is killed their goes his food supply. He is therefore at least somewhat willing to bring back bits of paper so that Charlotte can find the proper words to describe Wilbur. However, Charlotte is motivated by her genuine love for the young and innocent pig in need of a friend. Both Templeton and Charlotte are portrayed as being far cleverer than the others in the barn with their ability to read and write.
Although never made out to be dolts the reader can't help but wonder about the human's astuteness. Although mentioned, they are quick to dismiss the spider as the amazing animal instead believing the advertising that Wilbur is "Some Pig." We certainly read the book at a time when commercialism seems to be at its height. Requests for the latest toys advertised on television occasionally included a response about how Charlotte was able to trick people into believing what she wrote. And although her motives were genuine, Templeton's were not, so it is always a good idea to think about why others are telling us something is so wonderful.
Charlotte's Web did bring up several questions about talking animals. While we have read many children's books before with talking animals we certainly have never read one that portrays them so realistically. E. B. White does nothing to dismiss the notion that animals may indeed talk, since Fern does understand them; he implies that perhaps adults simply don't listen well enough. My children have seen performing animals and understand that some can be trained to respond to hand signals or noises. When asked if animals could really talk I opted to give the non-answer of "what do you think?" and let them decide for themselves what really might be going on in the barnyard.
And of course you can't read Charlotte's Web without looking at the subject of death. From beginning to end death hangs over the story without being too morose. I was bombarded with questions throughout the story. Why would Fern's dad want to kill the pig just because he was small? Why would Mr. Zuckerman kill Wilbur for ham and bacon? Why doesn't he just go to the grocery store? Why doesn't he eat the other animals? And of course the big one asked through tears, why did Charlotte die? Charlotte's Web is no lighthearted book; it delves into some subject matter than parents may not be ready to answer. I was prepared to discuss Charlotte's death as part of the circle of life, but I did not expect my 5 year old to pick up on some of the other issues the book brings up. Still, discussion is always good even when the topic isn't necessarily a comfortable one; although I did leave the chat about the difference in treatment of animals and people to my philosopher husband.
Our Experience
Charlotte's Web is unlike any book we have read before. Instead of focusing on action and allowing illustrations to describe the characters and setting, E.B. White includes long sections of prose to describe the look, feel and even smell of everything in the book. I found myself having to read these parts of the book far slower than others to allow my daughters the chance to develop the scene and characters with their imagination. The black and white sketches, while beautiful, are few and far between.
The long descriptive sections of the book were a bit much for my younger daughter. She would get a bit antsy at night so I often ended up reading her my own condensed version of the chapter the next day; sort of preschooler Cliff Notes. Both girls interrupted me regularly for definitions; it was a good way for me to tell if they were listening or not. It did take us about 3 weeks to plod through the book as I tried to limit us to one chapter per night so we would have some time to talk about what happened after.
For me it was really nice to read a well written book to my children. Although, for the most part, my daughters have advanced beyond simple picture and easy-reader books writing for a 6 year old is vastly different than writing for a 9 year old. I never realized how much descriptive narrative is missing in the early reader books we have until I read Charlotte's Web. More so than my children I was transported back to a 1950s farm house with the smell of manure in the air. At their ages my daughters don't have the same experiences to draw, on making the setting a little more difficult for them to imagine. But they enjoyed this book well enough for us to try some other classics, though I will be careful to pick one next time where it will be easier for them to relate to the characters and setting.
Final Thoughts
Overall I think the book was a success as a read aloud to my young children. It sparked some good conversations about life, death, animals and advertising. Most importantly it prepared them for they might see in the movie theater. I will encourage them both to read the book again when they are older and in the target age range of third grade and up.
E. B. White, Garth Williams (Illustrator),Hardcover, English-language edition,Pages:192,Pub by HarperCollins Publishers on 05-09-2006More at Barnes & Noble.com
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