E.B. White

As a child, E. B. White loved animals and writing. He did well in school and received a prize for his poetry when he was 14. But his successes did little to stop his anxieties and fears. He was afraid of the future. He was terrified of speaking in public. When White first worked as a newspaper reporter, his worries seemed justified. He got lost on his way to an important assignment and struggled to understand people on the telephone. He quit newspapers and it was unclear what he would do to support himself. But White persevered. He kept writing and discovered a magazine that published the type of writing he enjoyed. He focused on humor, poetry, and commentary. He became more confident in himself and wrote Stuart Little, Charlotte s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan. The boy who loved animals and writing became a beloved national literary treasure.