Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web is a children's book by American author E. B. White with illustrations by Garth Williams. It was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. It tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered, Charlotte writes messages in her web praising him, such as "Some Pig", "Terrific", "Radiant", and "Humble", to persuade the farmer to spare his life.
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The Arable family is a farm family that raises and sells animals. One day, John Arable attempts to slaughter the runt of a litter of 11 piglets born the night before, but his daughter Fern pleads for the piglet's life, and John gives him to her. Naming him Wilbur, Fern treats him as a pet, and the two become incredibly close. Eventually, Wilbur is no longer small, and so John decides to sell him, to Fern's dismay. Wilbur is given to Fern's maternal uncle-by-marriage, Homer Zuckerman, allowing her to periodically visit him. From here on, the various farm animals are depicted anthropomorphically. In Zuckerman's barnyard, Wilbur yearns for Fern and is met with varying reactions from the other animals, with some, such as the motherly goose, showing him compassion, and others, such as the head ram, treating him with scorn. One day, the ram offhandedly tells Wilbur that Zuckerman is raising him for slaughter and consumption, leaving him distraught. As he mourns his fate, a barn spider named Charlotte, whose web sits in a doorway overlooking his pigpen, comforts him. She promises to find a way to save his life and takes on a motherly role for him. Meanwhile, Fern often listens in on the animals' conversations, to her mother's concern.
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Death
Death is a major theme seen throughout the book and is brought forth by that of Charlotte. According to Norton D. Kinghorn, Charlotte's web acts as a barrier that separates the two worlds of life and death. Scholar Amy Ratelle says that through Charlotte's continual killing and eating of flies throughout the book, White makes the concept of death normal for Wilbur and the readers. Neither Wilbur nor Templeton sees death as a part of their lives; Templeton sees it only as something that will happen at some time in the distant future, while Wilbur views it as the end of everything. Wilbur constantly has death on his mind at night when he is worrying over whether or not he will be slaughtered. Even though he is able to escape his death, Charlotte, who takes care of him, is not able to escape her own. She passes away, but, according to Trudelle H. Thomas, "even in the face of death, life continues and ultimate goodness wins out". Jordan Anne Deveraux explains that E.B. White discusses a few realities of death. From the novel, readers learn that death can be delayed but that no one can avoid it forever.
Change
For Norton D. Kinghorn, Charlotte's web also acts as a signifier of change. The change Kinghorn refers to is that of both the human world and the farm/barn world. For both of these worlds, change is something that can't be avoided. Along with the changing of the seasons throughout the book, the characters also go through their own changes. Jordan Anne Deveraux also explains that Wilbur and Fern each go through their changes to transition from childhood closer to adulthood throughout the novel. This is evidenced by Wilbur accepting death and Fern giving up her dolls. Wilbur grows throughout the book, allowing him to become the caretaker of Charlotte's children just as she was a caretaker for him, as is explained by scholar Sue Misheff. But rather than accept the changes that are forced upon them, according to Sophie Mills, the characters aim to go beyond the limits of change. In a different way, Wilbur goes through a change when he switches locations. Amy Ratelle explains that when he moves from the Arables' farm to Homer Zuckerman's farm, he goes from being a loved pet to a farm animal.
Innocence
Fern goes from being a child to being more of an adult. As she experiences this change, Kinghorn notes that it can also be considered a fall from innocence. Wilbur also starts out young and innocent at the beginning of the book. A comparison is drawn between the innocence and youth of Fern and Wilbur. Sophie Mills states that they can identify with one another. Both Wilbur and Fern are, at first, horrified by the realization that life must end; however, by the end of the book, they learn to accept that, eventually, everything must die. According to Matthew Scully, the book presents the difference in the worldview of adults versus the worldview of children. Children, such as Fern, believe killing another for food is wrong, while adults have been gradually conditioned to believe that it is natural.
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The book was published three years after White began writing it. His editor, Ursula Nordstrom, said that one day in 1952, he arrived at her office and handed her a new manuscript, the only copy of the book then in existence, which she read soon after and enjoyed. The book was released on October 15, 1952. In light of White's Death of a Pig, published in 1948, which gives an account of his own failure to save a sick pig (bought for butchering), the book can be seen as his attempt "to save his pig in retrospect". His overall motivation for the book has not been revealed, and he once wrote: "I haven't told why I wrote the book, but I haven't told you why I sneeze, either. A book is a sneeze." There is a large grey spider that commonly inhabits out-buildings and sheds, and I turn to you on the chance that you know her and can enlighten me as to certain of her more intimate habits and functions—this because she figures in a book I am writing and I find myself, at this point, stuck....
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The book was generally well-reviewed when it was released. In The New York Times, Eudora Welty wrote: "As a piece of work it is just about perfect, and just about magical in the way it is done." Aside from its paperback sales, the book is 78th on the all-time bestselling hardback book list. According to publicity for the 2006 film adaptation (see below), it has sold more than 45 million copies and been translated into 23 languages. It was a Newbery Honor book for 1953, losing to Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark for the medal. In 1970, White won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, a major prize in the field of children's literature, for Charlotte's Web along with his first children's book, Stuart Little (1945). Seth Lerer, in his book Children's Literature, finds that Charlotte represents female authorship and creativity, and compares her to other female characters in children's literature such as Jo March in Little Women and Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden. Nancy Larrick brings to attention the "startling note of realism" in the opening line, "Where's Papa going with that ax?"
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Film
The book was adapted into an animated feature of the same name in 1973 by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Sagittarius Productions and released by Paramount Pictures with a score by the Sherman Brothers. This film was followed on March 18, 2003 by a direct-to-video sequel, Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure, that was released by Paramount Home Entertainment and Universal Home Entertainment Productions, with Nickelodeon Animation Studio providing animation services. A live-action film adaptation of the book, produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, Kerner Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies, was released on December 15, 2006. It starred Dakota Fanning as Fern and Julia Roberts as the voice of Charlotte.
Video game
A video game of the 2006 film was developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by THQ and Sega, and released on December 12, 2006, for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PC. A separate game also based on the film was released a year later for the PlayStation 2 developed by Blast! Entertainment.
Miniseries
On March 8, 2022, it was announced that Sesame Workshop was working on an animated miniseries based on the book. It was in production for a few months, and was slated to premiere in 2024 on Cartoon Network and HBO Max. On November 3, 2022, it was reported that the miniseries would not be moving forward. However, Canadian animation studio Guru Studio claimed it was still in production. The miniseries was released on HBO Max on October 2, 2025. Narrated by Jean Smart, it features the voices of Amy Adams as Charlotte, Elijah Wood as Adult Wilbur, Griffin Robert Faulkner as Wilbur, Cynthia Erivo as Goose, Natalie Chan as Fern, Danny Trejo as Gander, Randall Park as Templeton, Chris Diamantopoulos as Homer, Rosario Dawson as Edith, Ana Ortiz as Dolores, Tom Everett Scott as John, Leith Burke as George, Keith David as Old Sheep and Patricia Richardson as Widow Fussy with Dee Bradley Baker voicing various animals.
Stage
A musical production was created with music and lyrics by Charles Strouse.
Ebook
On March 17, 2015, HarperCollins Children's Books released an ebook version.
Audio drama
Radio Times Issue 3701 reports the Children's Radio 4 broadcast the abridged reading by William Hootkins of Charlotte's Web across two days 19 March 1994 and 20 March 1994 at 10:30 each day. Radio Times Issue 4225, reports the BBC Radio 4 FM Afternoon Play first broadcasting of Charlotte's Web in two parts on 22 March 2005 and 23 March 2005 at 14:15 each day. The cast included: The broadcast was adapted for radio by the Director, Chris Wallis and was based on the play by Joseph Robinette.
