The Story

Charlotte’s Web, written by E. B. White and first published in 1952 by Harper & Brothers is considered one of the most beloved works of American children’s literature.

The book recounts the unlikely friendship between a young barnyard pig named Wilbur and a spider named Charlotte. It has sold more than 45 million copies and been translated into 23 languages. In 2010, the New York Public Library reported that Charlotte's Web was the sixth most borrowed book in the library's history.

E.B. White lived on a farm, and the animals living inside the barn influenced many of the characters in his stories. One day he spotted a spider spinning an egg sac, and felt inspired:

“I had been watching a big gray spider at herwork and was impressed by how clever she was at her weaving. Gradually, I worked the spider into the story that you inow:  a story of friendship and salvation on a farm.”

At the time of its publication, Eudora Welty said of the work in The New York Times: "As a piece of work it is just about perfect, and just about magical in the way it is done”

The story has been adapted into two feature films and a stage musical by Charles Strouse (“Annie”).

From a letter written many years ago by E.B. White to all his readers:

“Are my stories true, you ask? No, they are imaginary tales, containing fantastic characters and events…In real life a spider doesn’t spin words in her web. But real life is only one kind of life. There is also the life of the imagination…”