Meet Wilbur, the runt of a spring pig litter who was almost bacon. Until Fern stopped her father from ending the poor pig's life. She vowed to look after it and bottle fed little Wilbur until he was too big to keep inside the house. So off to Uncle Zuckerman's farm he went, where he met all of the barnyard animals, Templeton the selfish rat, and most importantly Charlotte, the big, grey, common spider.
With Christmas round the corner, and the concerning reminder that spring pigs do not get to see the winter's snow, Charlotte will do everything in her power to save Wilbur's life in this gripping novel that shows that even if you are 'some pig' you are still loved by someone.
This book is amazing. Absolutely stunning!
I have to admit I did have something stuck in my throat when Wilbur had to leave the fair without Charlotte. For a children's book it does deal with quite mature themes. Loss is a large part of the book at the end. Wilbur experiences grief after the loss of Charlotte and is absolutely devastated. He sets a goal to make sure that all of Charlotte's eggs hatch at the barn as a form of repayment for what Charlotte had done to him.
This novel can be used very well to explain death to children (although it will always be a sensitive topic that many children might not have had to deal with yet).
It is a sad book but it is also a very satisfying read. The setting descriptions were my favourite thing in this book: I could picture myself at that farm in the early morning, with the fog in the air and the dew on the grass. This novel was very good at getting your imagination into Zuckerman's farm. It was detailed in its descriptions, but it was easy enough to be read to, or read by children.
I watched the movie after I had read the book, just to see how my imagination lined up with the imagination of the director, and setting wise I was there!
The only thing about the movie that didn't really sit right with me was how insanely close The Arable's house was in relation to Zuckerman's farm:
In the book when Fern was selling Wilbur to her uncle, it states that it was a short walk away, whereas in the movie, the Zuckerman's and the Arable's lived on the same farm. Whether that was done so that scenes could all be on that farm I don't know. If I think about it long enough it was probably the right decision for the movie, but in my head Fern would've had to use her legs a bit more to get to her pig each day!
Overall, if you haven't read this book yet, I highly recommend that you do. It will really be worth your while and it doesn't take too long (I managed it in a weekend as a slow reader).
Comments