Charlotte's Web

[JulieD]

My six-year-old dd and I have been reading it together and we got to the chapter where Charlotte dies today. I really thought I could read it, but I bawled, I couldn't make coherent words at all. Is there something seriously wrong with me?

 

On the bright side, my dd usually only reads one short paragraph per page, and she valiantly read through the whole scene with Wilbur and Templeton and the egg sac with better expression than I have ever heard her use on an initial read before. She also had to read the last couple of paragraphs of the chapter.

 

The part that worries me is that she asked, "You do know it's only a book, Mom? It's not even true. Real spiders bite people sometimes, too." I hope she is not seriously worried about my mental state.

 

I'm so glad I never read this with my son (who is like me).

 

But do other people allow themselves to live in a story? I've always been that way, but my dh and dd always seem to be apart from a story, it doesn't touch them.

[fshinkevich]

I always cry when I read "Where the Red Fern Grows". Even though I have read it several times.

[hsmom3tn]

I had to make my girls read this. They felt like they didn't need to because they had seen the movie. :ohmy:

 

Of course, they loved it. Afterwards they wanted to read Babe the Gallant Pig to see if it was better than the movie. :001_smile:

 

I haven't read Charlotte's Web since I was a little girl, but I'm sure I cried, too.

 

We just finished reading aloud Island of the Blue Dolphins. That one was a real tear jerker for me. I think knowing that it was based on a true story made me even more emotional than usual. :crying:

[milovany]

I'm very much like this. My kids know to just deal with it when I start sobbing (under my breath) at the end of a book. I started reading The Sarah Witcher Story to them last night and said, "I'll probably bawl when I read the last chapter" and they all nodded like, "We know, mom." I do it when I read The Incredible Journey too. Or when we watch The Railway Children and Homeward Bound (which of course is based on The Incredible Journey).

[KrissiK]

I read Where the Red Fern Grows as a read aloud to my fifth grade class when I was teaching and I bawled when I read the last chapter. The whole class was in tears, too. We were quite a sight.

[Georgiana Daniels]

My six-year-old dd and I have been reading it together and we got to the chapter where Charlotte dies today. I really thought I could read it, but I bawled, I couldn't make coherent words at all. Is there something seriously wrong with me?

 

On the bright side, my dd usually only reads one short paragraph per page, and she valiantly read through the whole scene with Wilbur and Templeton and the egg sac with better expression than I have ever heard her use on an initial read before. She also had to read the last couple of paragraphs of the chapter.

 

The part that worries me is that she asked, "You do know it's only a book, Mom? It's not even true. Real spiders bite people sometimes, too." I hope she is not seriously worried about my mental state.

 

I'm so glad I never read this with my son (who is like me).

 

But do other people allow themselves to live in a story? I've always been that way, but my dh and dd always seem to be apart from a story, it doesn't touch them.

 

I DID IT TOO! We read it last spring and I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. Whew! Glad I'm in good company:)

[Imprimis]

We do a lot of read-alouds, and, pathetically enough, it's a rare book that doesn't have me blubbering like a fool at some point during the story. It doesn't even have to be something sad; poignant scenes will do as well....the kids just roll their eyes and say, "mom's crying again." :glare: Hrmph.....

[mom2jjka]

My kids and I all bawled at the end of Stone Fox

[jujsky]

I tear up reading books to my kids ALL the time! Charlotte's Web had me bawling with my then-3 year-old looking at me like I was nuts. I was sure she would cry, but she didn't. I was reading the first Harry Potter to the kids today, and we were at the part where he sees his parents in the Mirror of Erised, and I cried. I get way too involved in books. You know how a lot of people read before bed to help them sleep? If I do that and it's a book I haven't read before, about 50% of the time I'll end up dreaming about it. I'll pick up where the book left off and continue with it in my dream.

 

I have a deep love of books :D

[AmeliaJade]

I was actually shocked to find myself crying while reading Charlotte's Web. I was the same way, so choked up I couldn't get the words out. I did the same thing with The Bridge to Terabithia.

 

The last Harry Potter book really got to me in a big way. Fortunately I read that one to myself. I told my oldest he'll have to read that one on his own because there is no way I can read that out loud.

 

Right now we're reading The Eddie Dickens Trilogy and we have the opposite problem. It is so silly that I can't read from laughing so much. :001_smile:

[hsmom3tn]

 

Right now we're reading The Eddie Dickens Trilogy and we have the opposite problem. It is so silly that I can't read from laughing so much. :001_smile:

 

Oh, I remember those. They are hilarious! You still cry, but from laughing, instead of sadness. :D

[orangearrow]

We read Charlotte's Web as a read-aloud too. I dreaded the ending. when we finally got there, I was also reading in breathy, choppy, gaspy "words" that my kids could barely understand.

 

My kids are not as emotional as I am (or as I was a kid either!!) and were far more concerned about me than about Charlotte! They were worried about ME and I was worried about them (WHO doesn't cry when Charlotte dies?!?!). :confused:

 

(I also cried when Charlotte's children started floating away... :crying: )

 

We also did Old Yeller as a read aloud. Same story, different book. Although, this one got my more sensitive daughter - she is a dog lover. We watched the movie afterwards and she had to walk out of the room when that part of the movie came on...

 

**sniff sniff** I generally avoid tear-jerker books and think I'll have the kids read Where the Red Fern Grows on their own... :sad: Not sure I could make that one.

[Veritaserum]

I always cry. :)

[akmommy]

Well if there's something wrong with you then there's something wrong with me too. :001_smile: Charlotte's Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, and all the rest. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I've read or watched these I still end up bawling like a baby.

 

We watched a movie not to long ago called Pheobe in Wonderland about a girl dealing with the onset of Tourrettes(sp?) and OCD and her family coming to terms with it. There is a scene in the movie where the girl asks her mom what is wrong with her, and movie mom and I just start bawling together. My family was looking at me like I had just lost my mind.

[ladydusk]

I keep skipping over the final story in The House at Pooh Corner for this very reason ... I bawl and can't get through it. I read it once, I don't think I can do it again.

[keptwoman]

I cried like a baby when Charlotte died. I don't like reading aloud much for just that reason.

[AuntieM]

I just read it aloud to my fourth child, the third out-loud reading. Yes, I cried again, even though I knew it was coming. My big kids enjoy teasing me about it, too. But i think they secretly like the fact that their mom does have a soft heart (balances out the, "What? You're not done with your math YET?" mommy....).

 

Where the Red Fern Grows and Velveteen Rabbit have the same effect on me. I have learned to keep the tissue box on the side table with the books.:glare:

[ma23peas]

Books I've cried reading aloud..

 

1. Heidi

2. Robin Hood by Pyle

3. The Bronze Bow

4. The Hiding Place

5. In the Likeness of God

6. Five Little Peppers and How they Grew

7. Charlotte's Web

8. Adam of the Road

9. Linda Sue Park books

10. Charles Dickens

 

I say I won't cry and the kids know something is coming, my reading slows, I get more determined in getting the words out and I can't breathe...to me, that is a sign of a good book....if you can read a book aloud and not be moved by it whether it be to tears or to laughter..then it may not have been worth reading..I say the same things about words, if you can't say something nice then don't go there...words are so powerful!!

 

Tara

[~Kirsten~]

I'm totally like this, too. Charlotte's Web is one that's particularly difficult for me, along with The Velveteen Rabbit for some reason. I made it through, but it took me some time, and I wasn't nearly as expressive as I was during the rest of the book because I was trying not to sob! :D

 

My DD had almost no reaction at the time. She wasn't particularly worried or concerned that I was upset, but there was just nothing. I couldn't figure it out, because I still have a hard time imagining not having a gut-wrenching reaction to a book. I've always been like that. However, what's interesting is we've had many, many interesting and rather deep discussions about death, and by turn about life as well, and I know confidently they stemmed from her experiences with Charlotte. So, though her reaction wasn't emotional at the outset, the book affected her greatly, just differently from the way it affects me.

 

So I say that to say, don't worry. I doubt you've scarred her for life! :tongue_smilie: You might want to have a brief conversation about how books affect you, just so she knows you're okay. But you might be surprised to see how she feels in a bit.

[AuntieM]

I say I won't cry and the kids know something is coming, my reading slows, I get more determined in getting the words out and I can't breathe...to me, that is a sign of a good book....if you can read a book aloud and not be moved by it whether it be to tears or to laughter..then it may not have been worth reading..I say the same things about words, if you can't say something nice then don't go there...words are so powerful!!

 

 

That is exactly how it happens here, and I agree that books should move us. And I have to add The Hiding Place to my crying list, sobbed when I read it by myself (both times), barely held it together when I read it aloud to the kids. I cried for sadness and for joy. Terrific book.

[~Kirsten~]

 

(I also cried when Charlotte's children started floating away... :crying: )

 

 

Oh, goodness, me, too! And when Fern stops her father at the beginning, grabbing at the axe. I'm so glad I'm not alone!

[JulieD]

Thanks everyone! I'm feeling a lot better now, although I hope I don't cry today when Charlotte's children start floating away. It looks like I have lots of company. And there are definitely a few books people have mentioned that I don't think we'll read aloud. Or at least not certain chapters.

[Word Nerd]

On NPR a while back, they had a story about Charlotte's Web. Apparently when EB White was reading it for the audiobook version, they had to do 17 takes of that scene because HE couldn't read it without crying! I'll see if I can find it.

[Word Nerd]

On NPR a while back, they had a story about Charlotte's Web. Apparently when EB White was reading it for the audiobook version, they had to do 17 takes of that scene because HE couldn't read it without crying! I'll see if I can find it.

 

Here it is!

[Donna T.]

OH Yes, Charlotte made me cry. Lots of read-alouds have made me cry. Someone listed Robin Hood. I never would have dreamed that Robin Hood would leave me bawling. It did. I didn't even read the last part to the kids. Not because they couldn't have handled it but because I pre-read it and there was no way I was putting myself through that again. I told them about it but I didn't read it. We've done three Sonlight cores and I have cried through many of those books.

[Impish]

I can't tell you how many readings of "Love You Forever" it took before I could actually READ the whole thing aloud without sobbing hysterically :blush:

[Chris in VA]

Ok, this is really, really bad--reading this thread and REMEMBERING the part where Charlotte dies has me in tears!

I never worry about showing my children a tender heart. When they hit those teenage years and hormones start a-pumping, they know they can come to Mom and she'll cry with them over all the pains and heartaches of life. It's good to be tender. OTOH, it's good to be able to hold yourself a bit apart from other's pain, if you can offer comfort that is authentic and not judgemental. Even God tells us to weep with those who weep--just because they are in a book does not mean they aren't "real."

Ok, now I sound weird.

[BikeBookBread]

The Little Match Girl by H. C. Andersen kills me every time. My girls even laugh about it now (they're 5 and 3). They kindly say while patting my arm, "Mommy, it's okay. We KNOW it's just a story that makes you sad. You can do it. Really. We want to hear it." (Or something to that effect.)

 

And THEN when we discovered an animated version as an extra on the Disney Platinum Edition The Little Mermaid DVD set and watched it, I was BAWLING. I cry to think about it! It is a visual film (no words) with the little girl out on the streets of a Russian city, set to the third movement of the Nocturne from String Quartet No. 2 in D Major by Alexander Borodin. It's pathetic (in the true sense of the word - passionate, subject to suffering, pathos). It was supposed to be a short in the Fantasia 2006 movie (which was shelved).

Edited August 29, 2009 by BikeBookBread
baaaad grammar

[AuntieM]

On NPR a while back, they had a story about Charlotte's Web. Apparently when EB White was reading it for the audiobook version, they had to do 17 takes of that scene because HE couldn't read it without crying! I'll see if I can find it.

 

I hope you find this. If you do, I will print it out and *make* my teens read it!

 

ETA: Oh, you DID find it, thanks for the link. Hitting the print button now and limbering up my wrist for the wave-it-at-the-kids moment...)

Edited August 29, 2009 by AuntieM

[AndyJoy]

I read Where the Red Fern Grows as a read aloud to my fifth grade class when I was teaching and I bawled when I read the last chapter. The whole class was in tears, too. We were quite a sight.

 

My 4th grade teacher read this to us, and we all started to cry until she completely lost control and began blubbering! We couldn't help but laugh because we had never seen a teacher break down like that. We took a 10 minute break while she composed herself, then she had me finish reading the book to the class.

[AndyJoy]

I just remembered--my grandpa watched the Charlotte's Web cartoon with me when I was 4, and started crying! He was very embarrassed, but my parents thought it was so cute.

[Desert Rat]

Heck, I'm crying just thinking about that part in Charolette's Web. LOL I cried through lots of the last Harry Potter when we read it aloud. I cry all the time with books.

[Nakia]

Yep, I'm a crier too. There are tons of picture books that make me cry too!!

[Jen in PA]

My 6 year old dd read this a few weeks ago. When she came to me and told me she was done I didn't believe her -- because she wasn't crying, not even a bit sad.... I asked her some questions and gave her a comprehension test. She scored 100%, so that means she's just less sensititive than I was as a child.

[ConnieB]

My six-year-old dd and I have been reading it together and we got to the chapter where Charlotte dies today. I really thought I could read it, but I bawled, I couldn't make coherent words at all. Is there something seriously wrong with me?

 

On the bright side, my dd usually only reads one short paragraph per page, and she valiantly read through the whole scene with Wilbur and Templeton and the egg sac with better expression than I have ever heard her use on an initial read before. She also had to read the last couple of paragraphs of the chapter.

 

The part that worries me is that she asked, "You do know it's only a book, Mom? It's not even true. Real spiders bite people sometimes, too." I hope she is not seriously worried about my mental state.

 

I'm so glad I never read this with my son (who is like me).

 

But do other people allow themselves to live in a story? I've always been that way, but my dh and dd always seem to be apart from a story, it doesn't touch them.

 

My husband says that I can crawl at commercials. And he's only half kidding...I've cried at some of those charity commercials with all the sick kids. I cry at anything remotely touching or sad and I bawl at the truly sad things on TV shows, books, movies, songs.

 

Sometimes it can be embarassing....but most of the time my family just moves on, because they know it's just me.

 

I'm grateful that none of my kids is quite the same waterworks that I am....it's not something I would wish on anyone. But, I also have no clue how to do otherwise, except to tune out (which is what I tend to do in public situations so as not to humiliate myself or family......sermons with stories in them make me start reading the announcement bulletin frantically and singing a song in my head, lol).

 

I wouldn't be worried about her thinking you've lost it.....just explain that yes you know it's not real, but the writer is so good that they make you feel like it could be real....and your imagination comes up with things like it that are real and that makes you cry. Thinking of any mother not being there for her kids would choke me up....spider or human.

[Word Nerd]

I cry easily over books and movies, though not if I feel I'm being manipulated or a story is maudlin or sappy (one of Charles Martin's books comes to mind). I've always been rather sensitive. I remember when I was a kid--probably no more than 6--I started crying when I heard some beautiful, sad music on a movie. I felt really stupid and couldn't even say why I was crying; it just really touched me. My kids know that sometimes when I read to them, I may get teary. If I'm in the room with someone who's crying (not normal kid crying), it's almost a certainty that I will cry with them. :)

[kwg]

I keep skipping over the final story in The House at Pooh Corner for this very reason ... I bawl and can't get through it. I read it once, I don't think I can do it again.

 

I get the strangest looks when I tell people Pooh makes me cry. So glad to hear I am not the only one!

 

I have not even tried Charlotte's Web yet. I am kind of scared :tongue_smilie:

[katemary63]

If I picked up a blank piece of paper and all that way typed on it were the word, "I'm proud of you" I would have a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat. I can't read aloud ANY book without choking up and going up two octaves and often as not, the tears flow. My kids laugh thier heads off at me, but I just don't even try to hide it any more.