A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

by Brave Writer intern, Amy Hughes

It’s the birthday of E. B. White! To celebrate, we’re making a special offer! The Quiver Arrow (especially designed for 1st and 2nd graders) for his novel, Charlotte’s Web, is:

HALF PRICE through July 13
at Midnight EDT ($4.95!)

OFFER HAS EXPIRED

Born July 11, 1899, E.B. White’s best-known novel is Charlotte’s Web, a timeless novel that describes where friendship, death and the enduring power of hope meet.

E.B. White’s prose is concise and descriptive of the beauties of the countryside. In this story of barnyard creatures, Wilbur, a pig, forms a friendship with the spider Charlotte.

Born and bought up on a farm, E. B. White loved animals from an early age. While E. B. White wrote newspaper columns to earn his living, he wrote a number of books about animals, including Stuart Little. Charlotte’s Web was inspired by his own attempt to nurse a sick pig back to life that had initially been destined for the butchery.

Here is a sample from the text to demonstrate the wonderful way in which E. B. White describes the seasons and weather of the country:

The next day was rainy and dark. Rain fell on the roof of the barn and dripped steadily from the eaves. Rain fell in the barnyard and ran in crooked courses down into the lane where thistles and pigweed grew. Rain spattered against Mrs. Zuckerman’s kitchen windows and came gushing out of the downspouts. Rain fell on the backs of the sheep as they grazed in the meadow. When the sheep tired of standing in the rain, they walked slowly up the lane and into the fold.

So take advantage of our special offer today!

Also, if you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: Charlotte’s Web (affiliate link).

The Arrow is a digital product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. A Quiver of Arrows is especially written for a younger set and includes a French-style dictation passage each week.

Image by Amazon.com

It’s Norton Juster’s 86th birthday today (June 2, 1929), and to celebrate, we’re making a special offer! The Arrow for his novel, The Phantom Tollbooth, is:

HALF PRICE through June 3rd at Midnight EDT! ($4.95)

OFFER HAS EXPIRED

The Phantom Tollbooth is an amazing book not just for its Lewis Carroll-like puns, wordplay, double entendre, satire, and wit, but also for its lovable—and relatable—hero. Milo, along with his faithful watchdog, Tock, and their acquaintance, the Humbug, embark on a quest to rescue the Princesses of Sweet Rhyme and Pure Reason.

In case you haven’t yet read this gem of a story, here are some quotes to whet your appetite:

I’m the Whether Man, not the Weather Man, for after all it’s more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be.

Whether or not you find your own way, you’re bound to find some way. If you happen to find my way, please return it, as it was lost years ago. I imagine by now it’s quite rusty.

Whatever we learn has a purpose and whatever we do affects everything and everyone else, if even in the tiniest way. Why, when a housefly flaps his wings, a breeze goes round the world; when a speck of dust falls to the ground, the entire planet weighs a little more; and when you stamp your foot, the earth moves slightly off its course. … And it’s much the same thing with knowledge, for whenever you learn something new, the whole world becomes that much richer.

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

Norton Juster said the following about his story:

It’s all about looking at things in a new way. There’s a wonderful old “Peanuts” cartoon that sort of embodies this. … Well, Charlie Brown and Lucy were talking about poetry. And in the next little box in the comic strip, Charlie Brown asks, “But how do you know what it means?” In the last box she says, “Someone tells you.” And it’s absolutely perfect.

So, let Norton Juster “tell you what it means” and take advantage of our special offer today!

Also, if you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: The Phantom Tollbooth.

The Arrow is a monthly digital product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It’s geared toward children ages 8-11 and is an indispensable tool for parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

Image by Keith Trice (cc cropped)