01/07/2025
I love this page.
https://youtu.be/EcIvLE2OS6U?list=PLqoBDxzH6CaDBRwxW2Lqhz3vjZZGYKk7p
I remember reading Charlottes' Web when it was published serially in The Post Dispatch Newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. It was delightful... they published the entire book in the newspaper, some of the published pieces included original illustrations.
https://archive.org/details/per_st-louis-post-dispatch_1950-01-23_102_132/mode/2up?view=theater
Next time I am in St. Louis I may checkout their micro files
Charlotte's Web is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. It was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock 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 in her web praising Wilbur, such as "Some Pig", "Terrific", "Radiant", and "Humble", to persuade the farmer to let him live.
Charlotte's Web is considered a classic of children's literature, enjoyed by readers of all ages.[1] 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.[2]
Charlotte's Web was adapted into an animated feature film by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Sagittarius Productions in 1973. Paramount released a direct-to-video sequel, Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure, in the US in 2003. Universal Home Entertainment Productions released the film internationally.[3] A live-action feature film version of E. B. White's original story was released in 2006. A video game based on this adaptation was also released in 2006.
Plot summary
The Arable family, led by patriarch John, are a farm family who raise and sell animals. One day, John attempts to slaughter the runt of a litter of piglets, but his daughter Fern pleads for the pig's life, so John gives her the pig. Naming him Wilbur, Fern treats him as a pet and the two become incredibly close. Eventually, Wilbur is no longer small and so John decides to sell the pig, to Fern's dismay. However, Wilbur is given to Fern's maternal uncle, Homer Zuckerman, allowing Fern to periodically visit.
From here on, the various farm animals are depicted as anthropomorphic. In Zuckerman's barnyard, Wilbur yearns for Fern and is met with varying reactions from the other animals, with some such as the motherly goose showing him compassion and others such as the head ram showing him scorn. One day, the ram offhandedly tells him that Zuckerman is raising him for slaughter and consumption, leaving Wilbur distraught. As he mourns his fate, a barn spider whose web sits in a doorway overlooking Wilbur's enclosure, named Charlotte, suddenly comforts him. Charlotte promises to find a way to save his life, and takes on a motherly role for Wilbur. Meanwhile, Fern can sense the animals' anthropomorphism and often listens in on their conversations, to the concern of her mother.
As the summer passes, Charlotte comes up with a plan to save Wilbur. Reasoning that Zuckerman would not kill a famous pig, Charlotte weaves words and short phrases in praise of Wilbur into her web, the first phrase being "Some Pig". This turns Wilbur, and the barn as a whole, into tourist attractions, because many people believe the web to be a miracle. After the excitement dies down, the phrase gets destroyed, so on the suggestion of the goose, Charlotte weaves the word "Terrific" into her web, beginning the cycle anew. Although Zuckerman is pleased with Wilbur's fame, his plan to slaughter Wilbur stays firm. In another effort to maintain the public's interest in Wilbur, Charlotte tells Templeton, a gluttonous rat that lives in Wilbur's pen and holds a contentious relationship with the other animals, to get another word for the web. He goes to the dump and finds a laundry detergent ad with the word "Radiant", which she then weaves into her web.
As a result of this latest round of fame, Zuckerman enters Wilbur into the county fair, and Charlotte and Templeton accompany him. The Arable family also go to the fair, but Fern, despite still cherishing Wilbur, has shown to have matured, and instead spends much of the fair with her childhood sweetheart, Henry Fussy. Charlotte weaves another word brought by Templeton, "Humble", into the web she forms at Wilbur's fair stable. Wilbur fails to win the first-place ribbon, but is awarded a special prize by the judges. Charlotte, who has laid a sac of eggs at the fair, hears the presentation of the award over the public address system and realizes that the prize means Zuckerman will cherish Wilbur for as long as the pig lives and will never slaughter him for his meat. However, Charlotte, being a barn spider with a naturally short lifespan, is already dying of natural causes by the time the award is announced. Knowing that she has saved Wilbur, and satisfied with the outcome of her life, she decides not to return to the barn with Wilbur and Templeton. She gives them her final request to have her egg sac taken back to the barn, and then dies alone at the fairgrounds.
Wilbur waits out the winter, during which Charlotte's children hatch. Most leave the barn to Wilbur's dismay, but three choose to remain. Future descendants of Charlotte keep Wilbur company for many years, though he always holds Charlotte in more esteem than them all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte%27s_Web
Charlotte's Web, by acclaimed author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams, is one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century children's literature. White's elegant prose and Williams's exquisite drawings form a spirited dialogue of substance and style.
