Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Charlotte's Web: By E.B. White

 Charlotte's Web begins with a hook.  Fern speaks first with the attention-grabbing line “'Where's Papa going with that axe?". This immediately grabs the reader's attention as the story unfolds.  The story focuses on a spider named Charlotte and a pig named Wilber.  Fern's father plans to kill Wilber because he is a runt but Fern stops him and Wilber is instead sold. This story has a central theme of seasons and life passing/the circle of life.  Wilber and Charlotte become friends and Fern continues to come to visit Wilber and insists that she hears the animals talk.  Charlotte begins to spin words in her web to play tricks on Wilber's owner, Mr. Zuckerman.  Mr. Zuckerman brings Wilber to the fair and Charlotte and Templeton, the rat, hide in the crate with him.  While at the fair, Charlotte announces that she will not return home since she will die soon, but Wilber and Templeton bring her egg sack back home with them so that Charlotte's descendants can continue to live on with them.  Wilber cares for the eggs and eventually they hatch and Wilber's new friends are born.  

I am not sure if I would use this book in my classroom. I remember reading it in second grade, but going back and rereading it, I am not sure about it.  I think that it does portray an interesting view on the circle of life and different seasons, but I feel like there are much better books now that portray that same message.  I think that the idea of Wilber and Charlotte talking does bring a spark of imagination to the reader which I really like, but I do know that some people are very bothered by some of the portrayals of death in this book.  I think it would change a lot based on where I was teaching and what the background of my students is.  


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