Getting in Line

Yesterday afternoon I brought home a bag of books from school (from a newly-arrived order) and a pile of books from the public library (from newly-arrived requests). I looked at them repeatedly before getting them in line, the deciding factor being which I wanted to read first. It began with the story of a boy named Elwyn and later nicknamed Andy.

The Story of Charlotte's Web: E. B. White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic by Michael Sims is the title that topped the list, and I have been engrossed in it all morning. From his family's Summit Avenue home in Mount Vernon, New York, to the summer months spent at Great Pond, Maine, Elwyn's love of the natural world shaped his actions, words, and artwork.

Having loved Charlotte's Web since my elementary school years, it feels good to read about how his life experiences shaped that story. I wish I could stay home all day and remain in that world.