Why people recommend it
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White is a beloved children's novel that tells the heartwarming and poignant story of a pig named Wilbur and his clever spider friend, Charlotte. Mohsin Hamid credited the book as a foundational influence that inspired him to become a writer when he appeared on The Book Review. On the same podcast, Lewis Sacher recalled a teacher reading the story aloud in the fourth grade, sparking his lifelong love of reading, while Tina Jordan praised Meryl Streep's audiobook narration for capturing the genuine spirit of the text. Stephen Dubner discussed the novel across multiple episodes of No Stupid Questions and Freakonomics Radio, reminiscing about reading it as a child, pondering the emotional bond between Wilbur and Fern, and reflecting on the ethics of eating meat alongside pop culture depictions of rats like Templeton. Additionally, actor Don Cheadle reminisced on SmartLess about playing Templeton the rat in a school production of the story during the fifth or sixth grade. The podcast hosts of Pod Save America also humorously referenced the farm setting and the central conflict regarding the fate of pigs while discussing broader political themes. Together, these discussions underscore the enduring emotional resonance and cross-generational appeal of White's classic tale about friendship, mortality, and rural life.
Who recommended it
- Stephen Dubner Discussed
- Angela Duckworth Discussed
- Lewis Sacher Discussed
- Moshin Hamid Recommended
- Tina Jordan Discussed
Stephen Dubner — 3 mentions
“because I think about the mouse we had Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse whereas rats you know we had Templeton from Charlotte's web voiced by Paul ly who is Sinister”
“And if I think back to when I read 'Charlotte's Web' for the first time, I must have been quite young; who could forget Wilbur and Fern's relationship with Wilbur and then wanting Wilbur not to become bacon, which was in fact the whole plot of the book.”
“I didn't spend a day not eating meat after reading 'Charlotte's Web,' so I don't know what that makes me—like a moral vagrant or something—but look, I think that Tolstoy and Fern and this Peter Singer argument, I actually have to say, I think it's right.”
Angela Duckworth — 2 mentions
“and if I think back to when I read Charlotte's Web for the first time I must have been quite young who could forget Wilbur and Fern's relationship with Wilbur and then wanting Wilbur not to become bacon which was in fact the whole plot of the book”
“it is interesting though in the book Fern kept the pig Wilbur and it was not really a pet it wasn't meant to be a pet because it was a farm animal they were raising for food and that was where the conflict was”
Lewis Sacher — 1 mention
“The one the one book that stands out was actually our teacher read to us out loud when I was in fourth grade... she read uh Charlotte's Web.”
Moshin Hamid — 1 mention
“but the truth is I wouldn't be a writer if it wasn't for Charlotte's Web”
Tina Jordan — 1 mention
“the ones that really work I'm thinking for example of I believe it's Merill Street Reading Charlotte's Web she's not acting she is just in that book”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 3
“You guys just don't know what it's like to live on a farm; sometimes you gotta kill puppies—they're always killing puppies. You ever read Babe or Charlotte's Web? Most of that book is about killing pigs.”
“I think I was in fifth or sixth grade; uh, I was Templeton the rat in a production of Charlotte's Web!”
“Yeah, I was like the runt of the litter, you know what I mean? Like, uh, Charlotte's web trickle. Yeah, it was like Charlotte's web, dude.”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (8: passing, ad reads, own books)
“and she's out of college now and she asked me to read to her from Charlotte's Web”
“but sometimes it was one of the Great Moments Like DB white Charlotte's Web and they would just go quiet and listen and it was lovely”
“you know eie white like the author of Charlotte's Web right”
“You know E.B. White, like the author of Charlotte's Web? With one of the greatest lines ever in literature that I am not going to nail right now, but...”
“she was holy shamoli these Charlotte's Web images are so cute”
“Like most people know him from the children's book Charlotte's Web, but he also wrote um for the New Yorker for many years”
“and then i saw a spider and so i said oh damn you know charlotte's webbing this [ __ ] you know what i'm saying this this that damn fifth grade reading level that shit's you know causing me to act up”
“and then i saw a spider and so i said oh damn you know charlotte's webbing this [ __ ] you know what i'm saying this this that damn fifth grade reading level that shit's you know causing me to act up”