#tbt: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Image: BOT

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. Unabridged audiobook narrated by Meryl Streep and a full cast. BOT, October 29, 2019. 

Whenever I attend a large conference with an exhibit hall, I always find the BOT booth to check it. Until recently, they sold audiobooks for twenty dollars a pop and I would always buy five. I was disappointed at Annual to find none for sale, but browsed the display of upcoming titles. The booth manager pointed me at the title they are most excited for. This one. My reaction was not what they expected. I asked,"How can this book be better narrated than by E.B. White?"

One of my favorite and most enduring family memories is of our car ride to ski in Vermont some thirty years ago. Everyone in the car was completely entranced by White's performance and story. It was magical. We went on to listen to his narration of Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little. It seemed a bit sacrilegious to attempt to remake perfection.

Still, Meryl Streep is the narrator. Her performance of The Velveteen Rabbit was simply stunning. Just thinking about it right now and my eyes brim with tears. So lovely.

This #tbt post is also a combo. The book isn't releasing until October, so I could've put it in Waiting on Wednesday; but it's here on #tbt. 

Charlotte's Web was written by E.B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. It was published in 1952 and was named a Newbery Honor. Quick, what won the Newbery that year? This Honor book is a great example of how sometimes Newbery committees get things wrong. Charlotte's Web has endured. It was made into an animated musical starring Debbie Reynolds as Charlotte in 1973. In 2006, Dakota Fanning played Fern in a live-action release.  

You may notice that most cover images are linked back to the publisher of the work. Follow the link above to the BOT website and take a gander at the cast list. It is filled with many of my favorites. Generally, I don't love full-cast audio productions. It takes me awhile to get with the flow of constantly changing voices. I think full-cast productions turn the experience into something else—more play than narration. 

January LeVoy is Charlotte. Kirby Heyborne is Wilbur. MacLeod Andrews is Templeton! Other favorite narrators in the cast include Dion Graham, Lincoln Hoppe and Bahni Turpin. So yeah, I'll be setting aside my curmudgeonly prejudice and listening. I'm sure it will be lovely.