CHAROLTTE'S WEB

CHARLOTTE'S WEB by E. B. White Illustrated by Garth Williams

I can't go by E.B. White's birthday without getting this classic on our list.

Charlotte's Web is the idyllic picture of childhood growing up on a farm. A slower paced life, overalls, dewy mornings, days spent in a barn surrounded by farm animals, a rope swing, friendship, and the county fair are all given their turn in the spotlight. Even if you don't physically live on a farm, it will feel as though you have left whatever setting you are in and joined Fern as she rambles around her beloved home.

I said this recently, but I believe E.B. White has written one of the best opening statements for a children's book ever published. "Where's Papa going with that ax" piques our interest immediately and fully sets us on "the hook" when we learn that he is going out to the hoghouse to take care of the little runt pig that will never amount to much. Of course, we know that our heroine, Fern, confronts her father and rescues the little pig she later names, Wilbur. This launches us into a delightful adventure that causes us to question where childhood imagination and reality come together.

Charlotte's Web is ultimately a story of friendship. A friendship that runs so deeply everything is sacrificed for it. When we close the cover of the book for the last time we realize it demonstrates a friendship each of us would be so lucky to possess.