E.B. White

Each year, in honor of my children's birthdays, I buy them a book. This year, I purchased Charlotte's Web for my six-year-old. I wanted him to know that the time we spend working through the pages of Phonics Pathways was worth it; I wanted him to be reassured that there are glorious stories ahead, almost within his phonemic grasp. For this waiting and learning time, though, I also got the audiobook. E.B. White is the reader for the audiobook and, as my nine-year-old said, "His voice is perfect!" I couldn't agree more.

For a reflection on life with E.B. White, see this article in the New Yorker, by his step-son Roger Angell. Thanks to Mental Multivitamin for the link.

There is a sentimental reason for my choice. It is the only book I remember my mother reading aloud to me and my sister. Mom was a hard-working person, off to the work world when she thought she would be able to be home raising her daughters. She was tired at night, but she did make time for Charlotte's Web. In my room or my sister's -- and we probably fought like crazy to decide which one-- we sighed and smiled and cried together. A great memory.