Dear E.B. White,
When I was 6 years old, I moved into a new house and transferred schools. The move wasn't far–not out of the country, not out of state, barely even out of city. The distance was about eight miles, a fifteen minute drive. Eight miles didn't seem like far, but it was the difference between Germantown and Cordova, Memphis City and Shelby County Schools. I'm not sure if, at the time, I was able to understand what the move meant. I thought that everything would be new and exciting. I didn't take into consideration what I might also lose. On my last day before the school change, I made my rounds. I cleaned out my cubby and desk and waved goodbye to friends, teachers, and classmates. (I would see them again … right?) My favorite teacher stopped me on my way out. In her hands was your book, Charlotte's Web. She knew I liked to read, so she had gotten it as a gift for me to remember her by. Overwhelmed, I pocketed it happily. We parted with a hug.
I carried that book with me on my first day at the new school. As I sat down, I began to notice the stark unfamiliarity of my surroundings. My "back-to-school" excitement faded into anxiety. I watched my new classmates milling around, chatting happily with their own friends, looking so comfortable I didn't dare approach them. That was when I realized that everything was going to be very, very different. I wasn't going to see my old friends and teachers again. I didn't know anyone at the new school. I didn't know how things worked around there. I looked down at Charlotte's Web, the only thing I had to remind me of my old life. I flipped open the cover and found a kind message from my teacher. Far from comforting me, the message made me feel lonelier than ever; tears came to my eyes.
I began flipping through the pages to avoid looking at my other classmates. I hadn't read it in a while, but soon memories of Wilbur and Charlotte and Fern and the rest came flooding back to me. As I reminisced, I understood how Wilbur must have felt when he first arrived at the Zuckerman's barn. Like the little pig, I was in a strange new environment, lonely and without friends. However, unlike Wilbur, there was no "hole in the fence" that I could escape through; I was trapped in the strange new pen. There was no Fern to play with me or to ease me through the transition between old and new. No one brought me a warm meal. Then, I relived Wilbur's meeting with Charlotte. He was so eager to meet this new figure who promised to be his friend, it made me excited for him. I wanted to meet a new friend, too. If Wilbur could, then I could.
I read as Wilbur and Charlotte became good friends, and the pig began to get to know everyone on the farm. I watched as his relationship with Charlotte even saved him from death. I began to reconsider my situation. Although I was starting out friendless and alone like Wilbur, I could make friends. I would become more familiar with my new "farm" and soon get to know other classmates. The people around me were potential friends and companions. There might be Templetons, unpleasant, always trying to drag others down into the dump. But then I would have Charlottes and Ganders and Lambs to pull me out again. I noticed that Wilbur seemed to always make the best of a new situation. Even though Charlotte eventually died, Wilbur was able to find new friends in her children. I knew if I ever ran into a wall, I could always find a way out, if I only looked hard enough.
Wilbur's optimism and perseverance in making friends really helped me pull through in that dark hour. For weeks afterwards, I struggled to become accustomed to my new surroundings. However, thereafter, I carried Wilbur's story and the warmth of your characters in my heart. No matter how terrible I felt, Charlotte's Web reminded me to hold on, to wait for the right moment or the right person to come along. The very copy of the book that I received that day has been with me now for ten years. Even having moved on to "older" books, what I learned from Charlotte's Web has never left me. Every new situation, every new meeting–Wilbur and Charlotte were right there, too. What I have come to consider priceless, I got for free. There are no words for that kind of gift, but thank you. Thank you is all I have.
Sincerely,
Vivian Hu
