CHARLOTTE’S WEB
One of the groups of kiddos that I read with every week in the school year for Baggy Reading and Book Clubs has decided to read Charlotte’s Web. They were so very excited by first few chapters in the story! One child even read too far ahead because he was so excited and just HAD to know what happened. The kids are in first through third grade in a Montessori classroom. The discussion amongst themselves sounds so very grown up and serious, it makes me smile. The sheer love of books and leading their own group makes them feel so accomplished. I love watching and participating with them. Their reading fluency and comprehension has all grown so very much since September. I will miss them this summer.
Charlotte’s Web is a children’s novel by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published in October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered by the farmer, Charlotte writes messages praising Wilbur (such as “Some Pig”) in her web in order to persuade the farmer to let him live.
Written in White’s dry, low-key manner, Charlotte’s Web is considered a classic of children’s literature, enjoyable to adults as well as children. The description of the experience of swinging on a rope swing at the farm is an often cited example of rhythm in writing, as the pace of the sentences reflects the motion of the swing. In 2000, Publishers Weekly listed the book as the best-selling children’s paperback of all time.
