Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So I'm read this book finally. I was supposed to read it back in 3rd grade but I was stubborn. But alas here I am today with Charlotte 's Web complete. Now I know this is a children's book but there are some issues that I just can't ignore.

Spoiler Alert (Even though everyone knows the story by now)

I'm not going to go in depth about the story but I will cover my main like and dislikes.

Things I liked:

-Characters. Each had a unique personality and contributed in some way or another.
-I liked how this book made death into a topic that is appropriate for children. It is important for them to learn about how bacon and such is made. This was a perfect way to do that. Death being addressed so bluntly, especially with Charlotte, surprised me.
-A true story of friendship. This was not forced. It took both Wilbur and Charlotte time to learn and accept one another and once they did they were true friends. Right till the end.

Things I did not like:

- The way Charlotte died. Ok I understand that death can be hard and kids should know that but making her die alone was horrible. They started the book by slowly explaining death and how scary it is. I liked how they did that but you can't change pace like that. I was truly sad after that chapter... sad in a bad way. I don't know what much have been going through those 6 year olds when they read it but I would have cried my eyes out.
-Templeton's story was looking to be interesting but it just went flat. He was obviously a selfish animal. We all knew that. When Charlotte was about to die he had to be bribed to get the sack. Are you kidding me? The movie was so much better in this instance. He should have learned the power of being selfless and comforted Wilbur. This teaches kids nothing but to avoid selfish fat people because they're a lost cause.

Altogether it was ok but the ending was extremely unimpressive.

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