Read about the other entries on the list.Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White)
Wilbur may be “some pig,” but considering how the deck has been stacked against her (specifically, she is a spider, and spiders…shudder), the real MVP of E.B. White’s children’s classic is undeniably Charlotte, whose calming presence and quick thinking saves Wilbur from a horrible fate. She even manages to make us tear up at her passing, and rejoice when hundreds of her babies hatch and float away on the breeze. Which, I guarantee you, if I encounter floating spider babies anywhere outside of this book, I will not be smiling.
Charlotte's Web is among Scott Greenstone's top twenty books with fewer than 200 pages, Mohsin Hamid's six favorite books and Sarah Lean's top ten animal stories; it is a book Kate DiCamillo hopes parents will read to their kids.
--Marshal Zeringue