Stuart Little

A letter from Mr. White, which he wrote before his death, about his three books for children: Dear Reader:

I receive many letters from children and can’ t answer them all – there wouldn’ t be time enough in a day. That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter. I’ ll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.

Where did I get the idea for "Stuart Little and for "Charlotte’ s Web? Well, many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. That’ s how the story of "Stuart Little got started.

As for "Charlotte’ s Web, I like animals and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours. One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pig’ s life. I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm. Three years after I started writing it, it was published. (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.)

I don’ t now how or when the idea for "The Trumpet of the Swan occurred to me. I guess I must have wondered what it would be like to be a Trumpeter Swan and not be able to make a noise.

Sometimes I’ m asked how old I was when I started to write, and what made me want to write. I started early – as soon as I could spell. In fact, I can’ t remember any time in my life when I wasn’ t busy writing. Idon’ t know what caused me to do it, or why I enjoyed it, but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction is trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures. I was no good at drawing, so I used words instead. As I grew older, I found that writing can be a way of earning a living.

Are my stories true, you ask? No, they are imaginary tales, containing fantastic characters and events. In "real life, a family doesn’ t have a child who looks like a mouse; in "real life, a spider doesn’ t spin words in her web. In "real life, a swan doesn’ t blow a trumpet. But "real life is only one kind of life – there is also the life of the imagination. And although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too – truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.

Yours sincerely,

E.B. White

This favorite classic is now available in a larger, easy-to-read format.

Stuart Little is no ordinary mouse. Born to a family of humans, he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George, and Snowbell the cat. Though he's shy and thoughtful, he's also a true lover of adventure.

Stuart's greatest adventure comes when his best friend, a beautiful little bird named Margalo, disappears from her nest. Determined to track her down, Stuart ventures away from home for the very first time in his life. He finds adventure aplenty. But will he find his friend?

Essayist and early New Yorker writer E. B. White (1899–1985) also wrote the children's classics Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan, and updated The Elements of Style. He was awarded the Gold Medal for Essays and Criticism of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the National Medal for Literature, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and (in 1973) was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lived in Maine and New York City.