“Darkness settled over everything. Soon there were only shadows and the noises of the sheep chewing their cuds, and occasionally the rattle of a cow-chain up overhead. 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.’”

E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web, 1952

E. B. (Elwyn Brooks) White (1899-1985) had style. Writing style, that is! In the world of children’s literature, he is widely known and celebrated as the author of Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. Generations of readers have loved these books for the way they make relatable characters out of spiders, pigs, mice, swans, and even rats. However, they would not be as lastingly popular as they are were it not for the quality of the writing. “Who can confidently say what ignites a certain combination of words, causing them to explode in the mind?” That is also White, writing about writing, in another book he’s famous for: The Elements of Style, a unique collaboration with one of his own former teachers, William Strunk. The Elements of Style, familiarly known as “Strunk and White,” has also been read by generations of students, often in a composition class. In other words, E. B. White can delight you with his writing, and also teach you how to delight readers with your own!

In Charlotte’s Web, the main (human) character, Fern, begs her parents to be allowed to keep the runt of a pig letter and raise him herself. This tiny piglet, Wilbur (the main pig character), eventually becomes a prize-winning pig at the State Fair. Did you know that kids in Oklahoma have a lot of support for learning about raising pigs? If you’re between 6th and 12th grade, and involved with either 4-H or Oklahoma’s FFA Association, check out the Oklahoma Pork Partners Derby! You could have the opportunity to choose a pig and receive a year of guidance on caring for and showing it. The pigs are bred by OSU’s Swine Unit, and the selection of them (draft day) happens right here in Stillwater.

The third main character in Charlotte’s Web is, of course, Charlotte—a spider. Her full name, as she tells Wilbur, is Charlotte A. Cavatica. Her scientific name is Araneus cavaticus, a type of orb-weaver spider, commonly known as a barn spider. Oklahoma Gardening, produced by OSU’s Extension Office, talks here about
orb-weavers in Oklahoma, which are very good for gardens!