CHARLOTTE'S WEB,
E.B. White
Selection read by Angela Patten, a poet now living in Vermont but born in Ireland. By the time she was a little girl, E. B. White’s very American story had emigrated across the Atlantic, so her mother read it to her and her brothers and sisters.

Angela Patten

Except that it’s more mysterious, Charlotte’s Web could have been called Wilbur the Lonely Pig. After all, it’s Wilbur’s longing for a true friend, even though he’s surrounded by a host of farm animals, that sets the story going. Of course, making a new friend ends up saving his life. If you’ve ever looked around your classroom and wished and wished for just one best friend, you know how Wilbur felt.

THINGS TO DO ONLINE
“Read all about it…”
E. B. White once explained how he came to write Charlotte’s Web in an open letter to children. Here’s what he wrote:

As for Charlotte’s Web, I like animals and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours. One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pig’s life. I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm. Three years after I started writing it, it was published. (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.)

Click here to read the full letter.

Think about raising a pig?
Did Charlotte’s Web make you want to raise an animal? What about a pig? Pig Paradise Farm has a guide to raising pigs and pictures of pig breeds. For a laugh, check out the Pigrools site. Even geese have some charm. And if the grumpy old sheep and querulous lamb aren’t very sympathetic, you might still want to pick a breed and start “natural lawnmowing” at home.

Meet Charlotte A. Cavatica
Did reading about Charlotte make you think you might just like to know them close up and personal? Here’s an introduction and here’s a lot about the arachnid family. And see if you can find a photo of A. Cavatica online, then email us and we’ll add the URL to this page. A clue: “A” does NOT stand for Arachnid.

Yes, there’s a Charlotte’s Web game online
Animals and even books inspire games online. Click here for the Charlotte’s Web game. Or play Concentration with a mess of spiders. If you like pigs better, here’s the goofy but amusing online version of “Pass the Pigs”

Bake biscuits
All this make you hungry? Check Camel’s Hump Cooks for your Charlotte’s Web recipe, Biscuits and Jam like Fern likes them.



FROM THE CHR LIBRARIAN—for Parents and other Adults

More by E. B. White
E. B. White’s other children’s stories are Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan.
There’s also The Annotated ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by Peter Neumeyer.

Related books
Australia being a land of sheep, there are several funny children’s books to recommend. One is Agnes the Sheep.
Powerful interested in pigs? Borrow or buy A Field Guide to Pigs by John Pukite or The Complete Pig by Sara Rath to get started.

Guiding kids into farming
You don’t have live on a farm for children to get involved in raising animals or gardening. The 4-H Clubs, part of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service has offices in every state. To join, call your County 4-H Extension Agent (under Cooperative Extension Office in the phone book or look up your state’s website here.

Pigs in myth and legend
Pigs and Gaelic myth go way back. In fact, the Irish myth about the Hound of Cuchulain mentioned by our reader, Angela Patten, contains “The Story of MacDatho’s Pig.”

Go to a fair this year
Generally feeling agricultural longings? Plan a trip to one of the state fairs around the country. This year, Fryeburg, Maine, is having its 150th Fryeburg Fair from Sept. 30-
Oct. 7.