The Life Lessons and Morals in the Book, Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

The delightful yarn, “Charlotte's Web”, spun by E. B. White, relies upon colorful imagery and characters which spring to life off the page. The cast of animals and humans in the story provides the backbone for the life lessons and morals which the author wished to convey. An important factor for any book intended for a child is the question of age, or more specifically the point at which the subject matter of a book is appropriate for a child to be exposed to or read themselves.

The importance of age can be regarded in three areas which help provide a time-line in which a child would benefit most from reading or having the story read to them.

These three areas include a child's cognitive ability, the morality of the story and the social implications held within. As an adult we might read this book to our children and during this time of re-reading it our perceptions or interpretations of the book may have shifted since our last exposure to the book as a child ourselves.

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With these factors combined we can make an informed decision as to when we should share this wonderful classic with our children. The story of Charlotte's Web provides many opportunities for an adult reading it to a child to discuss aspects of life which may be otherwise hard to discuss. An example being the characterizations of the animals and how they mirror personalities seen in the people around us. As discussed in Chapter Two of “Literature for Children”, The Rat, Templeton, can be seen as the egocentric, selfish person who only helps others when it leads to self-gain.

This kind of attitude is off-putting in the book and as such it provides a good place for an adult to talk about the dangers of selfishness and how unattractive it can be. These instances of life lessons are scattered throughout the book and offer just as good of an opening to discussion as Templeton's self-indulgence.

Some of these other examples include the inevitability of death, the passage of time, growing up, loyalty, friendship, and the virtues of being humble. With these morals and animal characterizations central to the story we can be sure that E.B. White clearly had lessons and ideals he wished to impart to our youth. There are various methods we use to determine the age at which we should expose our youth to certain literature. In addition, the age at which we read a story aloud to a child differs from the age at which a child is able to read the book independently. In Jim Trelease's book, “The New Read-Aloud Handbook" the author states that Charlotte's Web is a good book to read aloud to children at ages ranging from Kindergarten to grade four. (Trelease 220) While this is a wonderful story to enchant younger children during story time, the true essence and meaning of the story might be easier grasped and independently read by youth that are a little bit older, specifically ages seven to ten. A good guideline to understanding the development of children and the period at which we should share this classic for a child to read on their own resides within the text “Literature for Children.”

Breaking the age concept into three areas of child development helps pinpoint a rough estimate of the age at which we should share this classic story. These three areas include cognitive development, social development, and moral development conceptualized by Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Lawrence Kohlberg respectively. In the area of cognition, Piaget outlined a cognitive progression including four stages ranging from birth to the teenage years. The stage that seems most applicable to Charlotte's Web is the period of concrete operations. As opposed to the former stage, the preoperational period in which children are still trying to understand the basic building blocks of life, children in the period of concrete operations are able to use a sort of logic in their thinking which gives new depth to the themes held within E. B. Whites tale. Although a younger child may be engaged with the story, the ability to think logically gives great weight to the meaning and importance of the story. The second way to determine an appropriate age is through Erik Erikson's social development stages. His stages range from birth to the end of life.

The stage that seems most fitting for this tale falls between ages three to six and is known as initiative versus guilt. This stage is when a child begins to understand the importance of responsibility and acting in a socially acceptable manner. This is the stage they begin to form their ideas on what is right and wrong and how to deal with selfishness and guilt. These topics occur in the book, as mentioned earlier with Templeton and selfishness, and as such this would be a good time period for parents to share this book with their children and use it as an opportunity to discuss the importance of friendship, sharing, loyalty, and selflessness. The third and final method of determining a proper reading age can be seen in Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development. He has identified three stages which outline a person's growth from early years to adulthood. The stage at which this book would be most appropriate using Kohlberg's stages would be the first stage, also known as the pre-conventional stage. This stage deals with the concepts of punishment, obedience, and self-interest, all concepts which are important to bestow on a blossoming mind and Charlotte's Web touches on these concepts.

To summarize, "Charlotte's Web" is a heart-touching adventure into the lives of a young girl, her family, and various talking farm animals, yet the true meaning lays just a bit deeper. The characters have a depth which mirror real life and the story has a meaning and multiple issues which can serve as a point to spark conversation with your child. As long as a child is able to comprehend the meanings of death, friendship, loyalty and the personality traits of different individuals, then they would find much to enjoy in this book and most likely gain a deeper understanding of life as a whole.