'pologies to anybody following my reviews in hope of insights into epic fantasy novels - I get through more kids' stuff reading to my little girl (who is too disabled to do it for herself). 
 Charlotte's Web is a book I've been aware of for nearly 40 years but somehow managed to avoid reading when I was little. We picked it up at the hospice last week and read the first half, then had to buy a copy at Waterstones yesterday to finish it off (59 years in print and it's still selling for APS6.99 in paperback!) 
 The book's a classic for good reason. It delivers an emotional but refreshingly unsentimental story with twists and turns, and inadvertantly lets us have a look at rural American life in the late 1940's. In addition to a strong and engaging story E.B White has powerful prose that doesn't confuse a child, but carries more weight than you're likely to see in most children's stories. 
 There's a circle of life theme going on, the amusing and varied anthropomorphising of various animals, a county show and prizes to be awarded, oh my! But putting a welcome edge on all this is the bald fact that the pig you can see on the cover is balanced on a constant knife edge with people gearing up to reduce him to bacon and ham at every turn. And although there are tender moments in the story, it's never saccharine *slight spoiler* the rat never comes through with a change of heart, the little girl grows up and loses interest in the animals *end slight spoiler* 
 All in all a fine children's book. Perhaps it I'd read it when I was 7 I'd be giving it 5* 
 The saddest line in children's fiction:(view spoiler)[No one was with her when she died. (hide spoiler)] 
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