Charlotte's Web is a children's novel by American author
E. B. White and illustrated by
Garth Williams; it was published in 1952 by
Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a 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 praising Wilbur (such as "
Some Pig") in her web in order to persuade the farmer to let him live.
Written in White's dry, low-key manner,
Charlotte's Web is considered a classic of children's literature, enjoyable to adults as well as children.
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.
Publishers Weekly listed the book as the best-selling children's paperback of all time as of 2000.
Charlotte's Web was adapted into an animated feature 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 U.S. in 2003 (Universal released the film internationally). A live-action film version of E. B. White's original story was released in 2006. A video game based on this adaption was also released in 2006.
The novel was generally well-reviewed when it was released. In
The New York Times,
Eudora Welty wrote, "As a piece of work it is just about perfect, and just about magical in the way it is done." Aside from its paperback sales,
Charlotte's Web is 78th on the all-time bestselling hardback book list. According to publicity for the 2006 film adaptation, the book has sold more than 45 million copies and been translated into 23 languages.
It was a Newbery Honor book for 1953, losing to
Secret of the Andes by
Ann Nolan Clark for the medal. In 1970, White won the
Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, a major prize in the field of children's literature, for
Charlotte's Web, along with his first children's book,
Stuart Little, published in 1945.
Illustrator
Henry Cole expressed his deep childhood appreciation of the characters and story, and calls Garth Williams' illustrations full of “sensitivity, warmth, humor, and intelligence.” Illustrator
Diana Cain Blutenthal states that Williams' illustrations inspired and influenced her.
There is an unabridged audio book read by White himself which reappeared decades after it had originally been recorded.
Newsweek writes that White reads the story “
without artifice and with a mellow charm,” and that “
White also has a plangency that will make you weep, so don’t listen (at least, not to the sad parts) while driving.”
Joe Berk, president of
Pathway Sound, had recorded
Charlotte’s Web with White in White’s neighbor's house in Maine (which Berk describes as an especially memorable experience) and released the book in LP. Bantam released
Charlotte’s Web alongside
Stuart Little on CD in 1991, digitally remastered, having acquired the two of them for rather a large amount.
A 2004 study found that
Charlotte's Web was a common read-aloud book for third-graders in schools in San Diego County, California. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its "
Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." It was one of the "
Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by
School Library Journal.
Its awards and nominations include:
- Massachusetts Children's Book Award (1984)
- Horn Book Fanfare
