Charlotte's Web by E. B. White Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Charlotte's Web
Book Review: A Great Read!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you are any age you will love this book. Read it and see! Wilbur goes through many things as he gets sick, hurt, and almost killed if not for his friend Charlotte. He also goes to a fair, meets some interesting new friends, and has many adventures. Also, without the rat Templeton, half of the things that happened with her web convince the famer and his wife the he is "Terrific". I recommend this book to childeren from the ages of eight and up.
This book is writtenb in many different voices. one is emotional because, of course, what almost happens to Wilbur. But there is also excitment because Wilbur is a very excited pig. An example of this is when Wilbur first meets Charlotte. He gets very excited. So, the voice in this is mostly excited.
This book is aimed to elementary aged childeren but it does have a few words that a young third of forth gradermight not understand. Such as the word ,"sendentary", but in the book Wilbur asks Charlotte what it means and she responds, " Means i sit a good part of the time and don't go wandering all over creation." So this book is age appropraite.
This book contains many things. An example of this is when Wilbur first meets Charlotte again. Charlotte tells Wilbur to wait till morning to see her and Wilbur has restless night. Here is a part of that right after Charlotte told him to wait till morning.
" The night seened long. Wilbur's stomach was empty and his mind was full. ANd when you stomach is empty and your mind is full, it is hard to sleep." This book has humorous parts but also some serious ones too.
So I recommend this book to anyone who likes animals and adventure, childeren and s of all ages!
Book Review: A Rite of Passage
Summary: 5 Stars
"The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautiful days of the whole year - the days when summer is changing into fall - the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change."
There are powerful messages that every child longs to hear: life is special and worth cherishing at all costs - and against all odds. That is the backdrop for this tale. I read this book in the third grade and I'm now reading it aloud to my children at bedtime.
On my daughter's level, the animals talk. Great fun. And on my sons' level, we struggle to survive and have to plan for the future (but how?). Oh yeah, spiders are cool too.
So much of E.B.White's prose is visceral - looking across a pasture at dusk: the smell of horses, the slanted rays of the sun illuminating small vortices of insects, the nearby sounds of crops shaking in the breeze, the pink hues of the sky. This is the world of Charlotte's Web. Against this pastoral beauty, the main themes of this book center on mortality and friendship. Life is tragically ephemeral whether this is the life of a runt pig, or the fate of the same spring pig.
My children marvel that in a great hour of need, desperately alone, a heroine comes in the most unlikely of forms. We learn that perhaps the greatest obstacle to salvation isn't the effort of a savior, but rather the assent of a trusting soul - "But Charlotte," said Wilbur, "I'm not terrific."
Little minds (and big ones too) can wrestle with big ideas when reading this book. Just what is our purpose while we are in this "barnyard"? Is it to play the role of the rescuer or rescued. Or do we standby like the sheep and geese, and even self absorbed rats can be deliverers sometimes too.
"It's not often that someone comes along who is a true friend . . ." maybe the most applicable truth in this tale. As I read this book at night, I look at my children, who are growing up before my very eyes. I hope we learn from this book to be rescuers, to have the humility to be rescued, and to treasure our true friends. I turn off the lights and in the distance I hear the crickets, warning me that summertime cannot last forever.
DON'T EVEN THINK OF DEPRIVING YOUR CHILDREN OF THIS BOOK.
Book Review: A great read, if a little sad
Summary: 5 Stars
I expect that most people who read this will know what happens at the end of the book, but in case you don't, I shall keep quiet. This last section marks the book out as a bit more mature than many children's books, dealing with concepts that some children can't handle until they get older. That aside, this is a wonderfully written children's story, taking place primarily in a farm yard and barn, telling of the characters with whom Wilbur, a pig, shares his home. The animals are all written so well, they seem like real people, and coupled with Garth Williams's excellent illustrations make for an enjoyable read for the 8-15 age bracket.
This story was recently turned into a film, and the book isn't that different from the film, however it does give nuances that only the printed page can bring, so is well worth reading even if you already know the story.
The story is so well-written it has won awards, and this small sample of prose shows just how good E.B. White is: "The Autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world". It's just a beautiful piece of writing, showing that you don't have to talk down to children for them to enjoy books.
Book Review: Against All Odds
Summary: 5 Stars
From the Trashpile Stationery of Templeton the Rat:
Alright listen,
Wilbur the pig said if i wanted any more slop, i'd haf to tell you to read CHARLOTTE'S WEB.
Itz a book about a pig an me, a spieder and me, and humens. This pig is scared to deth of dying. So a spider named Charlotte figures out a way to keep him from becoming bakon & ham. Except something happens to Charlotte.
Everyone hates me in the story. They all say all i think of is myself. They're prejudiced against rats--that's what! But you jest wait & see how much they NEED me!
(I guess i've told you enough for some extra slops.)
Templeton the Rat
The Creative Teacher: Activities for Language Arts (Grades 4 through 8 and Up)
Book Review: An absolutely wonderful book--one of the best ever written for children
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read a LOT of children's novels lately and this one is the best. I don't say that lightly: I am a critical reviewer and frequently give two stars to "classics." But E.B. White's story about a caring spider and a young pig speaks about humanity as well as any other work of children's fiction.
Over the whole book hangs the terrible specter of Wilbur the pig's death. In a remarkable plot shift, Charlotte the spider ends up dying. Her death is surprising and beautiful. We are humbled and emptied by this wonderful creature's passing. But with Charlotte's end comes the ultimate lesson about death: while some die others are born, and they live a life partly assembled by the dead. For a book to tell tiny children such things so well and so compassionately is a real feat. E.B. White, who himself has died, has indeed left behind great life in his wake.