Review of Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White

Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White
Written and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Age Level: 7 –10
Grade Level:  2 – 5
 
I LOVED THIS BOOK! I’ve been a fan of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little since I discovered them in the 60’s.

I can also recommend it as a retired teacher and as a writer. As a teacher, this is great material for a book report. Melissa Sweet included her own illustrations AND E.B.’s. She has photos of him, plus photocopies of real letters he wrote. As a fan girl, I loved every page, and it was good to the last one. The end pages include a timeline, Melissa’s sources, a bibliography of E.B.’s books, a thank you from Melissa, and an index to help you search out important facts. The book ends with an afterward from EB’s granddaughter. This is SOME book!

And now as a writer, I appreciate the wisdom Melissa found and shared. Here are my four favorite writer facts:

1. He didn’t believe writers were celebrities.  Authors were a “mythical being…The book was the thing, not the man behind the book.” I agree. My writing should be all about the story.
2. Andy (E.B.) said “Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time.  You have to write up, not down.  Children are demanding.  They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth…Children are game for anything.  I throw them hard words, and they backhand them over the net.” My father, an elementary principal believed the same thing about never talking down to children.
3. The last year of E.B.’s life he had dementia.  He went from canoeing to a hospital bed. During that last year, Joel read his work. E.B. would wave away a passage or ask who wrote it. Joel’s answer was you did, and E.B.’s comment was, “Well, not bad.”
4. Because of a bad childhood experience, E.B. vowed never to go on stage again. He also avoided public and private events, like his wife’s funeral.  At his own, his stepson Roger said, “If Andy White could be with us today, he would not be with us today.”

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