48 Fun Facts About Charlotte's Web

When Wilbur breaks out of his pen, what finally lures him back inside?

A pail of slops. A barnyard voice kept shouting that it was the old pail trick, appealing to his stomach, but Wilbur followed the food right back in.

Charlotte introduces herself to Wilbur with which greeting?

Salutations! Wilbur couldn't find her at first, until she told him to look up at the barn doorway, where she was waving a leg.

How does Fern stop her father from killing the runt?

She calls it an injustice. Her father gave in, reasoning that raising the pig would teach her what trouble a pig can be.

What is the first phrase Charlotte weaves into her web?

Some Pig. People called the web a miracle, and visitors came from all over the county to see the pig.

Why does Charlotte reject the word 'Crunchy' that Templeton brings her?

It might remind people of bacon. Templeton had torn it from a magazine ad, and his next scrap, 'Pre-shrunk', didn't make the web either.

Where does Templeton find the word Radiant?

A box of soap. Its label promised 'new radiant action', so Charlotte had Wilbur show off some radiant action before she wove the word.

Which insects' song warns the barnyard that summer is ending?

The crickets. As they sang, Charlotte warned Wilbur she might miss the county fair, because she had an egg sac to make.

What is the surname of the family whose daughter saves the runt piglet?

Arable. Fern fed the runt she saved several times a day, and he soon moved from a carton in the kitchen to a straw bed outdoors.

White's last lines call Charlotte a true friend and good what?

Writer. Wilbur befriended generations of her descendants, but none of them ever quite took her place in his heart.

To whom is Wilbur sold when he grows too big for Fern to keep?

Homer Zuckerman. He is married to Fern's aunt, so Fern could visit almost every day, sitting on an old milking stool beside the pen.

In the book Charlotte's Web, which animal first tells Wilbur he is being fattened to be killed?

The old sheep. It said even Fern's father was in on the plot, and as Wilbur sobbed, Charlotte promised she would save him.

Who is the first to read the message in Charlotte's web?

Lurvy. After the words appeared, the hired man was told to bed the famous pig on clean straw instead of manure.

Who is Fern's elder brother?

Avery. The ten-year-old once tried to knock Charlotte down with a stick, but lost his balance and fell before he could reach her.

Who is Fern's childhood sweetheart, with whom she spends the fair?

Henry Fussy. At the fair he paid Fern's way on the Ferris wheel, and she spent her time with him instead of by Wilbur's pen.

What is the name of the large pig who rivals Wilbur at the fair?

Uncle. Charlotte disliked his coarse manners but saw at once that the huge pig was a real threat to Wilbur's chances.

What does Wilbur win at the fair?

A special prize from the judges. Charlotte heard it announced over the loudspeaker and knew it meant Wilbur would never be butchered.

Where does Charlotte die, after helping save Wilbur's life?

Alone at the fairgrounds. Barn spiders naturally live short lives, and she was already dying by the time of Wilbur's big day at the fair.

What are the names of the three spiderlings who stay in the barn?

Joy, Aranea and Nellie. Wilbur and the three young spiders pledged each other their friendship forever.

What full name does Charlotte give Wilbur, revealing her species?

Charlotte A. Cavatica. The name marks her as a barn spider, and she soon admits to Wilbur that she lives by trapping and eating flies.

In a bedtime story, what does Charlotte say one of her cousins once caught in a web?

A fish. Wilbur begged for more stories after that one, and Charlotte finally sang him a lullaby so he would fall asleep.

Which novelist did White ask to identify the spider on his farm?

Vladimir Nabokov. He replied that he knew next to nothing about spiders and steered White to Willis Gertsch at the American Museum of Natural History.

In which state was E. B. White's farm, where he watched the barn spider that inspired Charlotte?

Maine. White once raised a pig meant for butchering, yet when it fell sick he fought to save it and failed, then wrote an essay about it.

How did illustrator Garth Williams first draw Charlotte?

White suggested he simply draw a realistic spider instead.

What does Templeton hoard under Wilbur's trough that later saves Charlotte's life?

A rotten goose egg. When a boy poking at Charlotte with a stick fell onto the trough, the egg burst with a terrible smell.

Which other famous series did Garth Williams illustrate?

Little House on the Prairie. His own 1958 picture book, The Rabbits' Wedding, stirred controversy in Alabama for showing a white rabbit marrying a black one.

What is the famous first line of Charlotte's Web?

Where's Papa going with that ax? Eight-year-old Fern asks it, and learns her father is on his way to kill the runt of the litter.

Dr. Dorian can't explain the words in Charlotte's web; what else does he admit he doesn't understand?

How a spider spins a web. Fern's mother had come about the girl's odd behavior, and he asked whether Fern knew any boys.

What does Wilbur promise Templeton for fetching Charlotte's egg sac?

First pick of every meal. Templeton grumbled but fetched the sac, and Wilbur tucked it safely inside his mouth.

Which book beat Charlotte's Web to the 1953 Newbery Medal?

Charlotte's Web was named a Newbery Honor book instead.

Which prize did White win in 1970 for his first two children's books?

Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. In 2018 it was renamed the Children's Literature Legacy Award over language in Wilder's books seen as biased against Native and Black Americans.

Which author reviewing Charlotte's Web for The New York Times called it just about perfect and just about magical?

Eudora Welty. Her review noted that Charlotte tells Wilbur right away that she drinks blood, which horrifies the young pig.

How does Charlotte like to hang while she works out a plan to save Wilbur?

Head down. That's how she finally hit on her plan: to save Wilbur's life by playing a trick on the farmer.

Which studio produced the 1973 animated Charlotte's Web?

Hanna-Barbera. Better known for TV cartoons, the studio won praise from some reviewers for the film's animation and its voice cast.

Who voiced Charlotte in the 1973 film?

Paul Lynde voiced Templeton and Henry Gibson was Wilbur.

Which songwriting duo wrote the songs for the 1973 animated Charlotte's Web?

The Sherman Brothers. Some critics felt the songs padded the tale: the Chicago Reader said they fattened and sweetened White's lean prose.

Who voiced Charlotte in the 2006 live-action Charlotte's Web?

Julia Roberts. Her Charlotte vows to save Wilbur after the barnyard animals let slip that he is meant for Christmas dinner.

Which barnyard animal has a habit of repeating words, as in 'my friend, my friend'?

The goose. She was also the one who talked Wilbur into escaping from his pen.

E. B. White went by which nickname, the one Cornell tradition gives male students surnamed White?

Andy. The name honors Cornell co-founder Andrew Dickson White, and White was known as Andy from his college days on.

How does Fern take baby Wilbur along on her afternoon walks?

In her doll stroller. The walks ended within weeks, when her father said the pig had to be sold.

What finally talks Templeton into riding along to the county fair?

Tales of leftover food. At the fair Templeton ate his fill, then fetched Charlotte a piece of paper with a new word for her web.

Who voices Charlotte in the 2025 animated Charlotte's Web miniseries?

Amy Adams. The designers gave her Charlotte just two eyes instead of eight, a less realistic look meant to make the spider more appealing on screen.

What was E. B. White's first children's book?

Stuart Little. Anne Carroll Moore, the New York Public Library's powerful children's librarian, read the galleys and urged that it not be published.

Which writing handbook did White revise in 1959, first written by his Cornell professor?

William Strunk Jr. had published it privately in 1918.

For which magazine did White write for nearly six decades?

The New Yorker. It is also where he met his wife, Katharine Angell, one of the magazine's editors.

Which child actress played Fern in the 2006 live-action Charlotte's Web?

Dakota Fanning. Her Fern sneaks the piglet into school, hiding him inside her desk.

Which streaming service released the 2025 Charlotte's Web miniseries after reports it had been cancelled?

HBO Max. A 2022 report said the Sesame Workshop co-production wasn't going forward, but work continued and it premiered in October 2025.

What happens when Wilbur tries to make a web of his own?

He falls flat on the ground. Even with a string from Templeton tied to his tail, he just landed in front of the other animals.

Which Harper children's editor did E. B. White hand the only existing manuscript of Charlotte's Web?

Ursula Nordstrom. White had made no carbon copy, so rather than risk losing it, she sat down and read it right away.