Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (1952 Newberry Honor Book)

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (1952 Newberry Honor Book)

So last week, we talked about the winner of the 1952 Newberry medal, Ginger Pye, but this week we will be talking about what is probably the most popular book to come out in that year, and it was only an honor book. We'll get into all the reasons I think the committee that made that decision was wrong in just a moment, but first, let's talk about the story.

A litter of pigs is born on the Arable farm and Mr. Arable plans to kill the runt of the litter, but his daughter, Fern pleads for his life. She convinces her father, and gets to raise the pig, now named Wilbur, until he becomes too big to live at the house. They then sell Wilbur to Fern's uncle, Homer Zuckerman. Fern doesn't like the idea, but the Zuckerman farm is close so Fern is able to visit often.

Wilbur has a happy life on the farm even though there is some shadow of uncertainty around the farm. The other animals hint that there may be something to fear, but they don't get into details.

One night after a good cry about not having a friend, Wilbur hears a voice that promises to be his friend. She says that they will meet in the morning. Wilbur falls asleep, happy with what the future might hold.

In the morning, Wilbur meets a small spider named Charlotte. She is kind and gentle even though she does scare Wilbur with her carnivorous nature. When Wilbur realizes that his life will be cut short in the fall, Charlotte promises to find a way to save Wilbur.

That is when something strange starts to happen around the farm. The next morning, the words, "Some Pig" were found in the texture of the web. This causes a lot of excitement around the farm, and word spreads as more and more words appear.

Charlotte is obviously the source of the words. She gets them from a rat named Templeton. In the end, Wilbur is taken to the state fair. It seems like his only chance is to win the pig show at the fair, but there is also a large pig known as Uncle. Uncle wins the contest, but the committee has decided to give Wilbur an award because of Charlotte's messages. Wilbur's life is saved.

Charlotte is not able to return to the farm because she is about to die. She has laid her egg sack, and her life is spent after weaving one last web for her friend. Wilbur convinces Templeton to retrieve the eggs by offering the first choice on the scraps in the morning.

All winter, Wilbur waits to meet Charlotte's children, but when the eggs hatch in the spring, most of the spiders spin chutes and fly away, but three of the spiders are too small to fly away. Wilbur welcomes them and gives them names-Joy, Arenea, and Nellie.

The story is well known and well loved by everyone. Now let's talk about using it in your classroom.

• Charlotte has an excellent vocabulary, so look through the book for some great words to teach your kids. Use a variety of methods to teach these words-a jigsaw puzzle, a word search, whatever you like to do.
• Have discussions about how friendships work. Wilbur and Charlotte are very different creatures, but their friendship is genuine and strong. How does this work?
• Why does Fern spend less time with Wilbur as she gets older?
• How is Wilbur saved by simple words in a spider web?

As always, you can come up with plenty of great ideas on your own. Let your imagination go wild. Don't miss out on sharing this story with your students.

Leave your ideas in the comments below.