"Charlotte's Web" published 1952

One of the most beloved children's books, Charlotte's Web, was published October 15, 1952, written by E. B. White and Illustrated by Garth Williams.  It is a story about a pig, Wilbur, who is in danger of being slaughtered, but a barn spider, Charlotte, writes messages in her webs, praising Wilbur.  The farmer decides to spare Wilbur's life. 

Charlotte's Web won a Newbery Honor Book, a recognition given by the Association for Library Service to Children, in 1953.  The Newbery Medal is given to the best book, which was given to Ann Nolan Clark's Secret of the Andes. Whatever.

 Charlotte's Web won more awards.  It has been made into two movies and a musical.

The National Education Association listed it as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".  It has been named one of the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time by the School Library Journal.

"Charlotte's Web" - Banned Books Week!

I loved this staple of children's literature, Charlotte's Web, as many, many other people did and still do.  However, it wasn't always beloved as we would like to believe.  In 2006, it was banned in Kansas because:

“talking animals are blasphemous and unnatural;” passages about the spider dying were also criticized as being “inappropriate subject matter for a children’s book.’”

I suppose the idea of talking animals was a bit too much for people who did not have the privilege of reading such a classic as a child.

E. B. White, children's books author, born 1899

Elwyn Brooks (E.B.) White, born July 11, 1899, is probably best known for his book Charlotte's Web.  It is a must-read for every person and has been voted the top children's novel in a 2012 survey of School Library Journal readers.

Before writing, White worked as an editor of the Cornell Daily Sun, a cub reporter for the Seattle Times and was on staff at the New Yorker after it was founded in 1925.  It wasn't until the late 1930's that White began writing children's books and published Stuart Little in 1945, and, in 1952, Charlotte's Web, which receiveda Newbery Honor from the American Library Association.

White went on to win the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 1970.  His third novel, The Trumpet of the Swan won the Sequoya Award from Oklahoma.  I was 8 years old when it was published, but I have never heard of this one.

He passed away October 1, 1985 from Alzheimer's disease.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._B._White