Last night was the first night. It's not as calming as I'd hoped. They insisted on seeing every picture. They just kept listening and wouldn't go to sleep. Every time I finished a chapter they begged for more. Needless to say, we read 6 chapters before they finally succumbed. And believe me, if I hadn't been enjoying it so much, we wouldn't have read more than two.
Here are some reasons why I love it:
"So while the children swam and played and splashed water at each other, Wilbur amused himself in the mud along the edge of the brook, where it was warm and moist and delightfully sticky and oozy.
Every day was a happy day, and every night was peaceful."
"The barn was very large. It was very old. It smelled of hay and manure. It smelled of the perspiration of tired horses and the wonderful sweet breath of patient cows. It often had a sort of peaceful smell - as though nothing bad could happen ever again in the world."
"...From one to two, Wilbur planned to sleep. From two to three, he planned to scratch itchy places by rubbing against the fence. From three to four, he planned to stand perfectly still and think of what it was like to be alive, and to wait for Fern....Wilbur had gone to sleep thinking about these plans. He woke at six and saw the rain, and it seemed as though he couldn't bear it. "I get everything all beautifully planned out and it has to go and rain", he said."
"Wilbur didn't want food, he wanted love. He wanted a friend - someone who would play with him."
"You can imagine Wilbur's surprise when out of the darkness, came a small voice he had never heard before. It sounded rather thin, but pleasant. "Do you want a friend, Wilbur?" it said. "I'll be a friend to you. I've watched you all day and I like you."
"Wilbur was merely suffering the doubts and fears that often go with finding a new friend. In good time he was to discover that he was mistaken about Charlotte. Underneath her rather bold and cruel exterior, she had a kind heart, and she was to prove loyal and true to the very end."
Wilbur makes me smile. Alot.
5 comments:
I LOVED Charlotte's Web when I was a child.
Yeah, and then Charlotte has to go and ruin everything by dying and whatnot. I know it's a classic and I should read it to my girls, but there is just no way I'd be able to make it through without bursting into tears and not being able to continue.
Good thing Peanut's Grade 1 teacher read it to her this year. I was informed she maintained her composure just fine!
I just got done reading this to Caleb. The writing is great but it was hard for me to read to Caleb a book that kept talking about death. He did better with it than I thought. I do remember loving this book as a child.
I completely agree! I heart Wilbur! And, I LOVED Fern when I was little. I thought she was my friend... :)
This is one of my favorites to read to my children. I love Charlotte and can remember crying when she died the first time I read the book as a young girl.
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