Charlotte's Web

By: E. B. White, Melissa Sweet

Narrated by: Meryl Streep, Robin Miles, MacLeod Andrews, Emily Rankin, Kimberly Farr, Mark Deakins, Lincoln Hoppe, Tavia Gilbert, Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell, Full Cast

Length: 4 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to life by Meryl Streep and a full cast, this beloved book by E. B. White, author of Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, is a classic of children's literature that is "just about perfect" (New York Times).

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spider web tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter.

E. B. White's Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come.

Includes an appreciation written and read by Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet, the cover artist of this edition and author/illustrator of Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White.

Narrated by Meryl Streep, featuring:

January LaVoy as Charlotte

Kirby Heyborne as Wilbur

MacLeod Andrews as Templeton

With additional performances by:

Mark Bramhall as Lurvy

Scott Brick as the Minister

Cassandra Campbell as Edith Zuckerman

Danny Campbell as Homer Zuckerman

Mark Deakins as Mr. Arable

Kimberly Farr as Mrs. Arable

Tavia Gilbert as the Goose

Dion Graham as the Gander

Almarie Guerra as Nellie

Johnny Heller as the Fair Announcer

Lincoln Hoppe as Avery

Raymond Lee as the Baby Spider

Robin Miles as the Old Sheep

Adenrele Ojo as Aranea

Ray Porter as Uncle the Pig

Emily Rankin as Fern

John Rubinstein as Dr. Dorian

Bahni Turpin as the Lamb

Julia Whelan as Joy

©1952, 1980 E. B. White (P)2019 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Meryl Streep and a stellar cast take us to the barnyard. She draws the listener in with a smooth, consistent delivery and unobtrusive interjections highlighting the emotions of the dialogue. Every portrayal of every character, major and minor, bursts with personality." (AudioFile Magazine)

"[Meryl Streep's] narration is sometimes warm and cozy, like a grandmother reading us to sleep, and other times as dry and witty as was the author himself.... The other performers are terrific, too. One standout: Robin Miles reads the part of the cranky Old Sheep, leavening the character’s dark vision of the pig’s fate with a generous pinch of mordant humor. Also, Tavia Gilbert, as the Goose, has to repeat every word she utters, over and over, at an impossibly rapid clip. January LaVoy as Charlotte is charming." (The New York Times Book Review)

Ten Stars!

Charlotte is not in the whole story, Wilbur is in the whole story. You should read it because it is very good and calm. You can listen to it with headphones and it helps me sleep. I love this book so much! I love it so much that I want to listen to it over and over again. By A.E.H. age 6

Charming

I remember my 3rd grade teacher reading this to us. There is something I find very comforting about being read to. Listening to this audiobook narrated by Meryl Streep along with a full cast, reminded me of that experience as a child. The story is utterly charming. The descriptions of the farm throughout the year as the seasons change was beautifully depicted. I can see myself listening to this again every year.

Bravo performance

This audiobookis great. Bravo performance and the characters are believable.

The story is very sweet.it is lovely to see how their friendship grows, and it’s a reminder that all good friendships will eventually depart and go our own ways.

It’s best if you read this book with a childhood friend in mind. It’s happiness mixed with beautiful sorrow

Great fun

My five and six-year-old enjoyed this book very much. They said it was happy and then sad and then happy and then sad and finally... happy. :-)

Held the attention of my 6 and 4 year olds.

The first audio book for my children was a big hit. My 6 year old kept asking me to play it more and more.

Loved the full cast!

I listened to this classic book with my two kids ages 10 and 13. It brought back a lot of memories from reading it as a child and it was fun to share it with my kids for their first time. This full cast version is very well done. We all loved it.

Delightful!!

My grands go to sleep every night listening to Meryl's lovely voice and this completely enrapturing story. They love it and I love it!

Classic story perfected by readers!

My children and I all thoroughly enjoyed our Charlotte’s Web book study. This audio version held the attention of my youngest and the oldest alike. Memories have been made and the audio version of this beautiful story enhanced every one of them ❤️

Wonderful Classic

Excellent narration. Charlotte's Web is a true classic. Book is head and shoulders above the animated film. It kept my 9 year old son, who has some difficulty sitting still and focusing, engaged and listening eagerly. I was also very happy to listen to it as well. The voice acting brought the story to life. Beautiful.

Very very well done

My daughter loved it and so did I - music in background - animal
Noises - it was amazing.

Beautiful!

I read it as a child and loved sharing it with our daughter on a road trip. A beautifully meaningful story. Stunning in its complex simplicity.

Simply gorgeous narration and story

Having purchased the original version of this book read by the author himself, I was naturally curious when this multicast narration came available. I was absolutely delighted, surprised and enchanted by the beauty of the story and the multiple casting with so many actors playing the roles of every character in the story. This is a format I would like to see more often with audiobooks as it truly brings to life what can be seen as a tired format. I hope that every child who listens to this learns to love, appreciate and understand the majesty of nature and every adult is enchanted by the simplicity and moral threads that are weaved in to this story.