Geisel shared the essay with the New York Public Library’s children’s librarian, Anne Carroll Moore, who bombarded White with letters encouraging him to try it. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), and contemplated how fun and easy it would be to write for children. In a November 1938 essay for Harper’s magazine, White mentioned the only current children’s book he really liked was The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss was sort of involved in encouraging E.B. White said Stuart Little was “the only fictional figure ever to have honored and disturbed sleep.” 4. White got the idea for Stuart Little from a dream.Īround the same time White joined The New Yorker, he dozed off on a train ride and “dreamed of a small character who had the features of a mouse, was nicely dressed, courageous, and questing.” The trumpet-playing swan and the eloquent barn spider from his other books were conscious inventions, though. White’s publisher had already tapped Williams to illustrate Stuart Little before she even received the manuscript-when she did, it came with a note from White saying “Try Garth Williams.” 3. Stuart Little was also the first children’s book illustrated by Garth Williams, a former aspiring New Yorker cartoonist who would later provide the artwork for Charlotte’s Web, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series, George Selden’s The Cricket in Times Square and its sequels, and several books by Margaret Wise Brown (though not her most famous story, Goodnight Moon). Garth Williams illustrated the original edition of Stuart Little.

He’d go on to write Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan, solidifying his reputation as one of America’s greatest 20th-century children’s authors. It wasn’t until 1945 that White published Stuart Little, his first (but not last) novel for young readers. He also teamed up with James Thurber on a satirical collection of essays called Is Sex Necessary? Or, Why You Feel the Way You Do. Whether you curl up with your young reader to share these books or hand them off for independent reading, you are helping to create what are likely to be all-time favorite reading memories.In the late 1920s, Elwyn Brooks White rose to renown for his work as a writer and editor at The New Yorker. White favorites Charlotte's Web and The Trumpet of the Swan as classic illustrated novels that continue to speak to today's readers. Determined to track her down, Stuart ventures away from home for the very first time in his life. Stuart's greatest adventure comes when his best friend, a beautiful little bird named Margalo, disappears from her nest. Though he's shy and thoughtful, he's also a true lover of adventure. Born to a family of humans, he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George, and Snowbell the cat.

White, author of the Newbery Honor Book Charlotte's Web and The Trumpet of the Swan, about one small mouse on a very big adventure.

Stuart little white