Book of the Week: Charlotte’s Web

4 Stars

Now here is a novel that is just as great as A Little Princess or The Secret Garden. Beautifully written for children, and overall just gorgeous, this is probably the best of E.B White’s works, though some may argue with me. However, I feel like this is a classic for our times.

It’s a tale of friendship, loss, and quirky animals. This is a tale that strikes any child, because of the identifiable characters, the fact that some of the characters are animals, and the touch of sadness that introduces a taste of reality.

That is what I love about this book. Yes, it’s written for children, but the writing has a quality to it that is classic, and at the same time, very new. The characters are well-developed for a children’s novel, and at the same time have a complex shape to them that an older audience can enjoy.

The story line is the best part of the book, as many books should be. The cleverly written dialogue, and snappy pace is great. The idea behind the novel is great for kids and adults alike, and it explores subjects that they will experience or hear about later in life. The ideas that E.B White explores are great, comical, and yet manage to remain realistic to a point.

And, as strange as it is, I also highly enjoyed the illustrations. Call me weird, but I did; tey add to this story rather than take away from it.

What I did not like about this novel was when Wilbur went on and on and on, and is constantly whining. That is a irritation to me, even if I understand the why. There has to be a point though where the character develops into more than a whinny pig; thank goodness that happened.

I also did not like the way that the author would sometimes – sometimes – talk down to his audience.  It irritated me. However, more often than not, in a grade four’s perspective, you learned new words to broaden your vocabulary.

Overall, a good children’s novel that will be loved for years to come, and be deemed as classic as The Secret Garden someday, I think.

Wilbur is a pig. Fern is a human girl who has been taking care of him ever since he was born. If not, then he would have been killed; after all Wilbur was a runt.

But with plenty of love and tender loving care, Wilbur grows too big to be a family pet any longer. Wilbur is then sent to Fern’s uncle’s farm, which is unfamiliar and strange to an innocent, bashful pig.

After many tears are shed, Wilbur finds himself with one friend of strange proportions; Charlotte, who is a spider. Little does Wilbur know that Charlotte will be the one who can save him when he learns of a devastating fate that will befall him.

In a children’s novel that is beloved around the world, Charlotte’s web will inspire as well as make you see things in a different perspective.

Author: E.B White

Published: June 15th 1952 by HarperCollins

Page Count: 192

ISBN: 0060263857    (isbn13: 9780060263850)

Book of the Week: The Secret Garden

4 Stars

Oh, but it’s such a classic! To all of you who are protesting, too bad. This is the book of the week, as it is a classic, and I have not been able to visit my lovely local library or the book store to get anything I really, really, super badly wanted to read.

I like this book anyway. It has a beautiful story, and even if I like A Little Princess better, this one remains close to my heart as one of those children’s novels that you remember for years to come.

What I love about it is the era; the writing is so classic as is the story. An orphan. A mysterious and depressed uncle. A strange secret boy. A forbidden garden. Honestly, it’s something that you can’t forget, and it has that pull to it that makes it so unique.

What I did not like was not due to anything but my age. It is written for children, so reading it again now made it a simple and light read. that’s okay.

Overall, I think that this is a great novel for any children to read, and if you have never read it, I think now would be the time to at least attempt this novel. It is interwoven into our history, and is as classic as any Jane Austen or Leo Tolstoy. It’s just for a younger audience.

“Mistress Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells and marigolds all in a row.”

Mary Lennox is a sullen, spoiled child raised in India by her rich and fabulous parents. Her world is rocked though, when a disease rampages through the household, and Mary is suddenly an orphan.

She is sent away to London, then to her uncle’s house out on the cold, rainy moor. The house used to be luxurious, but all the rooms are locked, the household staff quiet, and the gardens tended by a old and cranky gardener. And Mistress Mary has nothing to do.

Slowly though, she starts to learn of the secrets of the house, what it means to grow up, and how much nicer people look when they smile.



Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Published: August 1st 1999 by Aladdin (first published 1909)

Page Count: 416

ISBN: 0689831412    (isbn13: 9780689831416)

Quick Review: A Little Princess

4 Stars

Yes, here is yet another classic for this lovely little project. A Little Princess is by Frances Hodgson Burnett, who wrote The Secret Garden, yet another classic in the realm of writing.

I remember reading this when I was about seven or eight, coming back from Manitoba. I loved it then, and I still love it now. The writing is just so classy, the characters just right for the intended audience. Sarah is such a strong character for a young girl to look up to, along with the fact that she can fight through what fate hands her.

I also ended up liking the bad characters in this. They were just so…Disney, even. They have a quality about them that makes them truly unique, but can still be put in the category of Ursula and Cruella De Ville. They have their own plan of action that still stings, but they are so focused on what is going on.

I could say that I did not like the writing, because it was too childlike, but one has to remember the intended audience, and it was never meant for a 16 year-old girl to read and proclaim it as a classic adult genius novel. No. The writing is perfect for the audience, with enough maturity for the kids reading it to be happy.

The one thing that did get on my nerves a little was the fact that Sarah is so self-sacrificing. But that’s also contradictory, because I also liked that about her.

Sarah Crewe is a princess. Or at least that is what many people see her as. Sarah is the daughter of a wealthy captain and merchant. She grew up in India pampered by her father and her servants. But she is also far from spoiled. She is mature and giving; she also loves to tell stories and make pretend. So when she is sent off to finishing school in London, she is treated truly like a princess. That all changes one day when her luck runs out, and all she has left is her imagination.

In a story that has stolen hearts for years, A Little Princess is memorable and lovable, sure to keep you reading about  Sarah Crewe, the girl who was a princess.

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Published: December 20th 1987 by HarperTrophy (first published 1888)

Page Count: 245

ISBN:0064401871    (isbn13: 9780064401876)