Charlotte's Web was released 70 years ago on October 15, 1952. American children's author E.B. (Elwyn Brooks) White edited and wrote for The New Yorker magazine for nearly his entire career and wrote three books for children. In 1945, White published Stuart Little; Stuart's character was inspired by a dream White had on a train. In 1952, the world was introduced to "some pig" named Wilbur in Charlotte's Web, inspired by White watching a spider spinning an egg sac in his Maine barn; the novel won the Newbery Medal in 1953. In 1970, White published Trumpet of the Swan. In 1971, White was awarded the National Medal for Literature.
White didn't just write for children. He revised William Strunk Jr.'s The Elements of Style, a now-classic practical writing style manual with insights like "omit needless words," "do not explain too much" and "be clear," and he wrote numerous essays and poems during his life. He received an honorary Pulitzer in 1978. He died in 1985 at the age of 86 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Read about The Story of Charlotte's Web: E.B. White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of An American Classic or check out the picture book A Boy, A Mouse, and A Spider: The Story of E.B. White.
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