Monday, April 28, 2014

BUCKET LIST UPDATE No. 145: Read “Stuart Little” by E.B. White

The novel “Stuart Little” is generally considered to be one of the finest children’s books ever written, but for whatever reason I’d never read it. A year or so ago, I added it to my “bucket list” after reading more about it on one of my favorite Web sites, “The Writer’s Almanac.” I started reading this book last week and finished it a few days ago, so now I understand what all the fuss was about.

For those of you unfamiliar with the novel, “Stuart Little” is about a small boy who looks and acts just like a mouse. He’s only about two inches tall, he’s covered with hair and he even has the face of a mouse. On the other hand, his family treats him like a small boy, he can talk and he can even drive a car and sail a model boat.

Written by E.B. White and published in 1945, this book is a quick read. The edition that I read was a 131-page paperback edition published in 1973 by Harper & Row. Illustrated throughout by Garth Williams, I finished read it in two or three days.

Even though it’s a book for children, I enjoyed reading it, and I think most adults would probably enjoy it too. Stuart gets into all sorts of unusual situations brought on by his status as a quasi-human, talking mouse-boy, and he unknowingly courts danger at almost ever turn. Plus, he drives an invisible car, and who doesn’t like invisible cars? Stuart is also a true friend, and he has many adventures after he sets out to find a missing friend, Margalo, a bird who has disappeared from his neighborhood.

Many of you will likely be familiar with “Stuart Little” thanks to the 1999 movie of the same name. The movie, which I haven’t seen, is loosely based on the novel with a screenplay that was co-wrote by M. Night Shyamalan, who is best known for his horror movies. Michael J. Fox provides the voice for Stuart, and the movie also stars Nathan lane, Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie.

The name of author E.B. White may sound familiar to many of you. In addition to Stuart Little, he is also the author of the famous children’s book, “Charlotte’s Web,” which was published in 1952. Like “Stuart Little,” “Charlotte’s Web” is considered one of the best children’s books ever written.

White, along with William Strunk Jr., also co-wrote one of the most famous nonfiction books ever written, 1918’s “The Elements of Style.” This book is one of the finest books ever published on the subject of writing, and it has influence countless authors and students over the years. It is often highly ranked on “best of” lists, and TIME magazine ranked it recently on its list of the best and most influential books written in English since 1923.


In the end, how many of you have read “Stuart Little”? What did you think about it? Let us know in the comments section below.

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