Hushed: The Words of an Introvert [LiteratureCollection]

My Copy of Charlotte's Web

   “You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that.”

― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web 

_________________________________________________________

Up until the Christmas of 2000, the only stories I ever read were short stories, like "The Runaway Bunny", "Green Eggs and Ham", "Madeline" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and it's not like I actually read them. My mom just read them to me each night before I went to bed. However, that special Christmas, my aunt had given me Charlotte's Web by E.B. White and described the impact the book had on her as a child. I remember the dimples on her cheeks when she insisted I attempt to read it myself, having never seen such profound indents. Today, I stand by the belief that it was a secret ambition of my aunt and my mother to get me to love reading. To be perfectly honest, it was only 2 years after that I even opened the book because I was turned off by the high number of pages (184). Plus, I'll admit it, I was a Barbie doll fanatic.

When I finally did decide to read Charlotte's Web, I was first presented with a short and sweet note written right before the title page. Of course, at the time, I was too young to truly appreciate the message she was conveying; but now that I'm older and wiser, I understand what she meant. Here is what she wrote:

Dear Brigid,                                                                        Christmas 2000

         Books bring such wonderful people into our lives, even wise spiders and brave pigs. I hope you grow to love this story as much as I. (Remember... read, read, read!)

                                                                                  With my love,

                                                                                    Aunt Janine

                                                                                            X O ❤

                                          "some pig!"

I'd say this book was one of many turning points in my reading career and I'll forever cherish it.