Ten top goodbyes in children’s literature

Lara Williamson is the author of A Boy Called Hope and The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair.

One of her top ten goodbyes in children’s literature, as shared at the Guardian:

Charlotte’s Web by EB White

EB White’s classic story is about life and death, growing up, the passing of time and the turning of the seasons, but most of all, it is about an unlikely friendship. Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider are friends and when Wilbur discovers he’s being fattened up to be eaten it’s up to Charlotte to save his bacon. This book is filled with twists and turns and the ending that follows is so beautifully written that it would be hard to read without a rivulet springing from your eyes. What’s more it has changed my opinions on arachnids for ever.

Read about another entry on the list.

Charlotte's Web is among BBC.com Culture’s critics' eleven best children’s books (for ages 10 and under) ever published in English, Holly Webb's ten top children's books on death and bereavement, Sara Brady's top six talking-animal characters she’d like to have a drink with, Joel Cunningham's favorite talking animals in fiction, Scott Greenstone's top twenty books with fewer than 200 pages, Mohsin Hamid's six favorite books and Sarah Lean's top ten animal stories; it is a book Kate DiCamillo hopes parents will read to their kids.

--Marshal Zeringue