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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24178.Charlotte_s_Web?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Charlotte's Web" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1167520504m/24178.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24178.Charlotte_s_Web?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Charlotte's Web</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/988142.E_B_White">E.B. White</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5664524?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 5 of 5 stars<br/>A beautiful book.  I think one of my favorite things about it (and probably one of my favorite things when I was a kid reading it) is that it doesn't talk down to the reader while providing a whole lot of interesting information. Let's face it, you learn a lot about spiders! I could never convince myself that any of them were as cool as Charlotte, but it was nice to know why they did what they did. The feelings were also very recognizable, even if life on a farm was not, starting with Fern's love for baby Wilbur (who didn't want to raise a baby pig after reading that?) and moving onto Wilbur's insecurity and loneliness at being the new animal on the farm. The snippy lambs were a nice touch to really make it seem like a schoolyard as well as a barnyard. Plus everyone grew and evolved, right down to annoying brother Avery. All because of one little spider.
<br/>
<br/>What is odd to me, though, is how overlooked Charlotte is by everyone and everything in the book. I think it's Mrs. Zuckerman who comments that what they really have is some spider, not just some pig, but everyone ignores that and is just convinced that it's a miracle pig. I'm with Mrs. Zuckerman - miracle, yes, but it's the miracle spider...which I just realized makes you, the reader, love Charlotte all the more. She is a beautiful example of selfless giving and true friendship. Good job, E.B. White! Now, one of these days I'll get back to Stuart Little.
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/332008?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Susan's review
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bookshelves: childrens, yomr

A beautiful book. I think one of my favorite things about it (and probably one of my favorite things when I was a kid reading it) is that it doesn't talk down to the reader while providing a whole lot of interesting information. Let's face it, you learn a lot about spiders! I could never convince myself that any of them were as cool as Charlotte, but it was nice to know why they did what they did. The feelings were also very recognizable, even if life on a farm was not, starting with Fern's love for baby Wilbur (who didn't want to raise a baby pig after reading that?) and moving onto Wilbur's insecurity and loneliness at being the new animal on the farm. The snippy lambs were a nice touch to really make it seem like a schoolyard as well as a barnyard. Plus everyone grew and evolved, right down to annoying brother Avery. All because of one little spider.

What is odd to me, though, is how overlooked Charlotte is by everyone and everything in the book. I think it's Mrs. Zuckerman who ...more

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