Book Review: The Story of Charlotte's Web

I read another wonderful book! This one was a biography about author and animal-lover E. B. White. The book, The Story of Charlotte's Web: E. B. White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic by Michael Sims tells of White's childhood in Moutn Vernon, a suburb of New York,  with wonderful summers in Maine; his young adult life plagued with shyness around women and the beginnings of a literary career; and his discovery of a spider in his barn... that led to the creation of Charlotte's Web.

I loved reading about White's love of nature that started when he was very young. His early life included trips to the zoo, the circus, and month-long summer trips to Maine. White loved his time in Maine and would take a canoe out early in the morning, while the rest of the household slept, to watch the Great Blue Herons.

After marrying, he bought a small farm with his wife and started filling the barn with animals. One day, he noticed a spider on a web and he eventually spent a lot of time researching orb weavers. (I think it was over a year, but I read this book about a month ago and not I'm not sure I'm remembering that fact correctly.)

I loved learning more facts about spiders while reading this book, and just the fact the E. B. White was so meticulous with the accuracy of nature in his book. Charlotte's Web is one of my favorite books and this was a great look at the man behind the book... and a wonderful book about nature, too!