10 Facts About "Charlotte's Web" That Will Make You Realize Why It Was So Popular

Although E.B. White is known for being an author, he also owned a farm. When writing about Zuckerman's farm in  Charlotte's Web, he imagined his farm with it's red barn and swing.

Although he raised pigs for slaughter, White had a hard time letting go of the animals that he'd grown fond of. One of the pigs that was raised for slaughter had gotten sick and White nursed it back to health. The pig died anyway and it had a profound effect on the author. He wrote the essay, "Death of a Pig," after the experience. 

White found a spider and egg sack in his barn and, intrigued, decided to take a closer look. He never saw the spider again, but before leaving for a trip to New York, cut down the eggs and took them with him. He stored them in a candy box, only to have the eggs hatch and create webs all over his bureau. 

White thought that the spider he'd seen in his barn was a gray cross spider, called an Epeira sclopetaria and named her Charlotte Epeira. Later, he spoke with an expert at the American Museum of Natural History who determined that Charlotte was actually a common barn spider, or Araneus cavaticus. He changed her name to Charlotte A. Cavaticus.

White struggled with the beginning of the book and wasn't sure if he should start it from Charlotte or Wilbur's perspective. Finally, he added Fern, who offered a much more human perspective. 

White's book Stuart Little, was quite successful when it was released, so his editor didn't expect him to write another for a while. He showed up at her office one day with one copy, handed it to her and left. She was so impressed with it that she read it right then. 

Garth Williams, the illustrator for the book wasn't sure how he was going to depict Charlotte. He wanted to portray her as female, but the editor's didn't like the idea. Instead he drew her as an anatomically correct spider with pinpoint for eyes. She is portrayed with feminine features in the films.

Many parents and educators were uncomfortable with the fact that it was a children's book that dealt heavily with death. White was unfazed by the criticism, responding with, "I am working on a new book about a boa constrictor and a litter of hyenas. The boa constrictor swallows the babies one by one, and the mother hyena dies laughing.”

Hanna-Barbera created a cartoon based on the book and wanted a much happier ending. White stood firm about the ending of the book and it wasn't changed.