What did we think about the ending of the book? Are we happy that three spiders remained to “entertain” Wilbur? I felt like his petulance did not deserve a reward, but maybe listening to the book enhanced the whiny-ness/petulance. Before…

Firstly, wow, it was very strange to return to Charlotte’s Web…I thought I remembered enough of that book from my primary school days but there were many, many surprises. This initial question may be…anthropocentric…of me, but I’m thinking about Fern;…

March 23rd: E. B. White, Charlotte’s Web [any edition will do].  Wilbur is cute, has long eye lashes and he’s a white pig. I think all of this would appeal more to the adult sensibility as to why he deserves…

I was really interested in Ratelle’s discussion of the dichotomy between subjectivity and edibility and how Charlotte seems to know that if Wilbur can be seen as an individual or subject, as ‘some pig’, that he will be saved from…

QuestionsI have a few questions about the Newbery Medal: (1) In general, how representative is the Newbery titles as “American children’s literature”? (2) How does prizing “keep above the taint of commercialism”? How is this possible? Isn’t that the book…

I’d never read Dolittle before, and I have to say I was utterly shocked, first by the level of racism and secondly by how just “not good” it was. It was only upon reflection that I realized the extent to…

Hugh Lofting, The Story of Doctor Doolittle: Intro: “John Doolittle’s friends are convincing because their creator never forces them to desert their own characteristics…..when Mr. Lofting invents fantastic animals he gives them a kind of credible possibility which is extraordinarily…

I’m sure we’ll give Lofting and Dolittle more criticism and consideration in class, but I think this is actually a good time to talk about authorial presence and authority in works considered ‘classics’, as is hinted at in the Slate…

This was my first interaction with Dr. Doolittle, in any form. The accompanying illustrations really cemented its offensiveness, and I am surprised it has remained a mainstay. So, what’s the deal? Are the movies just totally different and simply share…

I don’t think I had ever read Dr. Doolittle before and even knowing that it is considered a peak example of racist and colonialist tropes I was surprised at just how incredibly racist it was. As I was reading I…