Book · 1952 · Juvenile Fiction
Charlotte's Web
- mentions
- 10
- people
- 6
- podcasts
- 4
- episodes
- 7
- critical mentions
- 0
The truth is I wouldn't be a writer if it wasn't for Charlotte's Web.
What they say about it
- Reflecting on meat and food4
- Childhood reading memories“read to us out loud”3
The best things said about it
The one book that stands out was actually our teacher read to us out loud when I was in fourth grade... she read Charlotte's Web.
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.
Stephen Dubner No Stupid Questions · Jan 2023 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.
Stephen Dubner No Stupid Questions · Jan 2023 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.
Angela Duckworth No Stupid Questions · Jan 2023 You can disappear down a valley of Winnie the Pooh or Charlotte's Web or and in some ways The Poets.
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.
Stephen Dubner Freakonomics Radio · Feb 2025 Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
1
4
3
2
How it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
6 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White is a beloved children's novel about the deep friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a clever barn spider named Charlotte, who devises a plan to save him from slaughter. Mohsin Hamid credited the book on The Book Review as the primary inspiration that made him want to become a writer, while Lewis Sacher recalled a fourth-grade teacher reading it aloud, which sparked his lifelong passion for reading. Mary Karr mentioned on The Tim Ferriss Show that the story provided a comforting valley for children to escape into during their early years. On Freakonomics Radio, Stephen Dubner compared cultural depictions of mice with rats, noting the inclusion of Templeton the rat from White's story. Dubner and Angela Duckworth also discussed the book on No Stupid Questions, reminiscing about Wilbur and Fern's relationship, the central plot to prevent Wilbur from becoming bacon, and how reading such animal stories at a young age connects to broader ethical questions regarding the consumption of meat. Finally, Tina Jordan praised Meryl Streep's audiobook narration of the story on The Book Review as a masterclass in total immersion.
Every mention
Moshin Hamid but the truth is I wouldn't be a writer if it wasn't for Charlotte's Web 1
Recommended
“but the truth is I wouldn't be a writer if it wasn't for Charlotte's Web”
Stephen Dubner And if I think back to when I read 'Charlotte's Web' for the first time, I must have been quite young; who… 3
Discussed
“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”
Discussed
“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.”
Discussed
“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 and if I think back to when I read Charlotte's Web for the first time I must have been quite young who coul… 2
Discussed
“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”
Discussed
“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”
Mary Karr you can disappear down a valley of Winnie the Pooh or Charlotte's Web or and in some ways The Poets 2
Discussed
“you can disappear down a valley of Winnie the Pooh or Charlotte's Web or and in some ways The Poets”
Discussed
“but but you can disappear down a valley of winnie the pooh or charlotte's web or and in some ways the poets i read”
Lewis Sacher The one the one book that stands out was actually our teacher read to us out loud when I was in fourth grad… 1
Discussed
“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.”
Tina Jordan the ones that really work I'm thinking for example of I believe it's Merill Street Reading Charlotte's Web… 1
Discussed
“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”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (17: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing
“I think I was in fifth sixth grade uh I was uh Templeton the rat in uh a production of Charlotte's Web that was written about extensively in the the Denver uh Denver Colorado periodicals you can look it up”
Passing
“and she's out of college now and she asked me to read to her from Charlotte's Web”
Passing
“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”
Speaker The Book Review Inside The New York Times Book Review: ‘ADHD Nation’ 2024-07-18 Listen at 40:39
Passing
“that's where we are Charlotte's Webb they couldn't even write it any they couldn't even write the book again”
Passing
“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.”
Passing
“I think I was in fifth or sixth grade; uh, I was Templeton the rat in a production of Charlotte's Web!”
Passing
“you know eie white like the author of Charlotte's Web right”
Passing
“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...”
Passing
“she was holy shamoli these Charlotte's Web images are so cute”
Passing
“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.”
Passing
“charlotte's website tricky yeah it was like charlotte's web dude was it who was like was that the pig”
Passing
“the idea of some of the non- intoxicating compounds from the plant being used as therapy in children like Charlotte figgy for whom Charlotte's Web is named”
Passing
“Charlotte from Charlotte's Web this is the story that has talking rats and talking spiders no oh very you know so interesting so once again a bunch of young people would not necessarily get that right so eie white the the famous book good yes no no no sh”
Passing
“throw a dirty spider in charlotte's web out there you know”
Passing
“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”
Passing
“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”
Passing
“yeah well they know I probably know that that I'm a huge Charlotte's Web a fan”