Hanover School Corporation:
One District, One Book
About Stuart Little
Stuart Little is no ordinary mouse. He is a clever, adventurous, thoughtful, and will have students giggling and enjoying every moment of his story. Stuart Little, by E.B. White, is a classic novel that will win over second to fifth graders as they read about his adventures in New York City. The story is full of fun characters, like Snowbell the Cat who bullies Stuart and tries to rid the house of him, and Margalo the bird – Stuart’s dearest friend. When Margalo disappears from home, Stuart sets off to find her, his biggest adventure yet.
About E.B. White
E. B. White, the author of such beloved children's classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan, was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921. E.B. White authored over seventeen books of prose and poetry and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1973. In addition to writing children's books, E. B. White also wrote books for adults.
For such a famous writer, he always said that he found writing difficult but he kept at it!
Mr. White has won many awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, which commended him for making “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”
He died on October 1, 1985.
The Stories Behind The Books
During his lifetime, many young readers asked Mr. White if his stories were true. In a letter written to be sent to his fans, he answered, “No, they are imaginary tales… But real life is only one kind of life — there is also the life of the imagination.”
Mr. White lived on a farm in Maine where he kept animals, and some of these creatures made their way into his stories and books, like Stuart in Stuart Little, or Charlotte in Charlotte's Web. After all, as E.B. White said, “I like animals, and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours!”
Stuart Little
“Many years ago,” E.B. White would say, “I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. That's how the story of Stuart Little got started.”