Whispering Pines Family Farm loves stories about animals, especially ones about farm animals. We know that life on a farm can be a real adventure. One of our favorite stories set on a farm is the classic children’s book ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by E.B. White. Have you read it yet?
It’s a heartwarming story about a girl named Fern who adopts a baby pig – the runt of the litter – and names him Wilbur. She cares for Wilbur until he’s too big to be at her house, then she takes him to live on her uncle’s farm. At the farm, Wilbur meets lots of farm animal friends – a goose, a sheep, a barn rat, and his very best friend, a barn spider named Charlotte.
Why has this story enchanted a generation of children and parents? It’s likely the fact that the author based parts of the story on real-life experiences he had on his farm in Maine, where he and his wife lived for a number of years. Biographer Michael Sims recalls that E.B. White had a penchant for caring for animals. His menagerie of animals included chickens, ducks, mice and dogs, and his love of animals inspired White to pen what became an immensely popular children’s classic.
As it turns out, there was a real Charlotte true to the fictional story. Sims says White would watch the spider’s web day after day and one morning noticed an egg sac. White cut the egg sac down and took it with him to New York City, where the baby spiders soon hatched. He then took all the ideas from his time at the farm, spinning them into ‘Charlotte’s Web’ — an enchanting classic story that continues to charm new generations.
Since its publication in1952, the author’s story hit the big screen. Both the cartoon version from the 1970s and a live action film from 2006 remain true to the author’s original story. Perhaps it’s time to watch or read that classic story one more time.