Charlotte's Web

"How about 'Pig Supreme'?" asked one of the lambs.
"No good," said Charlotte. "It sounds like a rich dessert."
"How about 'Terrific, terrific, terrific'?" asked the goose.
"Cut that down to one 'terrific' and it will do very nicely," said Charlotte. "I think 'terrific' might impress Zuckerman.
"But Charlotte," said Wilbur, "I'm not terrific."
"That doesn't make a particle of difference," replied Charlotte. "Not a particle. People believe almost anything they see in print."
p.87-89

Templeton was down there now, rummaging around. When he returned to the barn, he carried in his mouth an advertisement he had torn from a crumpled magazine
"How's this?" he asked, showing the ad to Charlotte. "It says 'Crunchy.' 'Crunchy' would be a good word to write in your web."

"Just the wrong idea," replied Charlotte. "Couldn't be worse. We don't want Zuckerman to think Wilbur is crunchy. He might start thinking about crisp, crunchy bacon and tasty ham. That would put ideas into his head. We must advertise Wilbur's noble qualities, not his tastiness. Go get another word, please, Templeton."

The rat looked disgusted. But he sneaked away to the dump and was back in a while with a strip of cotton cloth. "How's this?" he asked. "It's a label off an old shirt."

Charlotte examined the label. It said PRE-SHRUNK.

"I'm sorry, Templeton," she said, "but 'Pre-shrunk' is out of the question. We want Zuckerman to think Wilbur is nicely filled out, not all shrunk up. I'll have to ask you to try again."

"What do you think I am, a messenger boy?" grumbled the rat. "I'm not going to spend all my time chasing down to the dump after advertising material."

"Just once more--please!" said Charlotte.

...When he came back he had a strip of blue-and-white cardboard in his teeth.

"There!" he said, triumphantly. "How's that?"

Charlotte read the words: "With New Radiant Action."

"What does it mean?" asked Charlotte, who had never used any soap flakes in her life.

"How should I know?" said Templeton. "You asked for words and I brought them. I suppose the next thing you'll want me to fetch is a dictionary."

Charlotte's Web, published by E. B. White in 1952, is one of the most beloved children's stories of all time. I myself, being an avid reader in childhood as well as a teacher of elementary children, had never actually read it until today. I loved the animated movie as a child and I liked the Dakota Fanning version. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to read it. I do remember starting it, reading part of the way through, and abandoning the book because I didn't like it. Compared to other children's books I've read, many of them published more recently, E. B. White is wordy, and some of the larger themes are not easily grasped by children.

In the beginning of this book, I was not too impressed. I knew the story, but I was not really sure why this particular story resonated with readers more than other ones (Because of Winn Dixie, for example, which is my personal favorite). Toward the end of the book (which took me less than a day to complete), I realized that it wasn't the plot of the story itself, but the message it sends. The book bursting with second chances, friendship, loyalty, miracles, life and death, and new beginnings. It certainly wouldn't be an easy book to teach, but it would be worth it simply for the messages. It also has innocence everywhere, no thwarting of plans, betrayals, just a simple story full of good morals.



I love all the characters in the book; Charlotte and Wilbur have a special place in my heart, but my favorite character is Templeton the rat. Now, I have not special affliction toward rats, I don't think they're cute, I would be horrified to find one living in my house. However, Templeton, for his rough exterior, is really kindhearted and good. Sure, Charlotte, Wilbur, and the gander have to bribe him with food to get him to do anything, but I'd bet he would have done it anyway. I think he prefers to act put out by any request they have. However, in the end he has a breakdown moment where he feels unappreciated. Clearly he's not in a good place here; his speech reeks of self pity, but I don't blame him after the treatment he got. It's not that the other characters are particularly mean to him, but they have been bribing him rather than thanking him. In the end, whether he meant to or not, he saved Wilbur's life many times over.

"So!" he said, in disgust. "So it's old Templeton to the rescue again, is it? Templeton do this, Templeton do that, Temple please run down to the dump to get me a magazine clipping, Templeton please lend me a piece of string so I can spin a web...Ho, ho. And what thanks do I ever get for these services, I would like to know? Never a kind word for old Templeton, only abuse and wisecracks and side remarks. Never a kind word for a rat...My, my! I notice that it's always me you come to when in trouble. But I've never heard of anyone's heart breaking on my account. Oh, no. Who cares anything about old Templeton?...Who made trip after trip to the dump?" he asked. "Why, it was old Templeton! Who saved Charlotte's life by scaring that Arable boy away with a rotten goose egg? Bless my soul, I believe it was old Templeton. Who bit your tail and got you back on your feet this morning after you fainted in front of the crowd? Old Templeton. Has it ever occurred to you that I'm sick of running errands and doing favors? Who do you think I am, anyway, a rat-of-all-work?"

Lots of quotes today. Mostly ones that I liked; things that were funny, things that were full of emotion, things that were absolutely true, things that were just adorable. Regardless of this being a children's book, it's worth a read no matter what your age. I'll leave you with a couple more quotes I enjoyed.

"What do people catch on the Queensborough Bridge--bugs?" asked Wilbur.
"No," said Charlotte. "They don't catch anything. They just keep trotting back and forth across the bridge thinking there is something better on the other side. If they'd hang head-down at the top of the thing and wait quietly, maybe something good would come along. But no--with men it's rush, rush, rush, every minute. I'm glad I'm a sedentary spider."
p.60

"What a gamble friendship is!"
p.41