No, Charlotte’s Web is not a picture book.
However, it is, deservedly, considered a classic of children’s literature–and I somehow managed to miss the audio version read by E.B. White (the author) until this week.
This book was published in 1952, and some details are dated. (I was struck by how cheap everything was when the family went to the fair.) However, the core of this book is timeless and wonderful. It is a brave book about friendship and love that manages to evoke the essence of these different animals and still let them speak.
Hearing White read this was deeply moving–and brought some of the humor to life. (I about shot granola across the room when White did the goose voices.)
Get it. Listen to it. Love it. Learn again why this book was identified in 2000 as the best-selling paperback book for kids ever sold (at that time), why it was a Newbery Honor book, why it was a film, an audio drama, a mini-series, a video game, and a stage musical.
And try not to cry when Charlotte dies.
