Charlotte's Web
E.B. White
** spoiler alert **
A left behind classic
I first read E.B. White's Charlotte’s Web many years ago (around 1970, at a guess) and loved it. So, when the necessity arose to read it again, I was eager.
Alas, it was disappointing. I could detail the faults I perceive, but I don't like writing long negative reviews, so I will restrict myself to the most important thing -- it is so bland. Nothing very interesting or challenging happens. I didn't really care about anyone in it. Even Charlotte's death leaves me cold.
I don't think Charlotte’s Web has become any less enjoyable since I read it as a kid, and I don't think I have lost the ability to enjoy it. What has happened, however, is that a LOT of really great children's books have been published since 1952, when Charlotte’s Web was published, or even since 1970 when I read it. Ella Enchanted and Holes immediately come to mind. With a little more thought I could easily name half a dozen children's books that I now think are better than Charlotte’s Web -- I could probably multiply that to twenty or thirty if I scanned the list of Newbery Medal and Honor books over the last fifty years.
Charlotte’s Web still gets a nostalgia boost. And I agree with the many reviewers who praise White's technique. But Charlotte’s Web no longer makes the list of the children's books that have most touched my emotions.