English Children's Literature week4

• Charlotte's Web

  

Charlotte's Web is a children's novel by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published in October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered by the farmer, Charlotte writes messages praising Wilbur (such as "Some Pig") in her web in order to persuade the farmer to let him live.

Charlotte's Web
Plot summary	After her father spares the life of a piglet from slaughtering it as runt of the litter, a little girl named Fern Arable nurtures the piglet lovingly, naming him Wilbur. On greater maturity, Wilbur is sold to Fern's uncle, Homer Zuckerman, in whose barnyard he is left yearning for companionship but is snubbed by other barn animals, until befriended by a barn spider named Charlotte, living on a web overlooking Wilbur's enclosure. Upon Wilbur's discovery that he is intended for slaughter, she promises to hatch a plan guaranteed to spare his life. Accordingly, she secretly weaves praise of him into her web, attracting publicity among Zuckerman's neighbors who attribute the praise to divine intervention. As time passes, more inscriptions appear on Charlotte's webs, increasing his renown. Therefore, Wilbur is entered in the county fair, accompanied by Charlotte and the rat Templeton, whom she employs in gathering inspiration for her messages. There, Charlotte spins an egg sac containing her unborn offspring, and Wilbur, despite winning no prizes, is later celebrated by the fair's staff and visitors (thus made too prestigious alive to justify killing him). Exhausted apparently by laying eggs, Charlotte remains at the fair and dies shortly after Wilbur's departure. Having returned to Zuckerman's farm, Wilbur guards Charlotte's egg sac and is saddened further when the new spiders depart shortly after hatching. The three smallest remain, however. Pleased at finding new friends, Wilbur names the spiderlings Joy, Nellie, and Aranea, and the book concludes by mentioning that more generations of spiders kept him company in subsequent years.
Characters	Wilbur is a pig, the runt of his litter. He is often strongly emotional. Charlotte is a spider who befriends Wilbur. John Arable: Wilbur's first owner. Fern Arable, John's daughter, who adopts Wilbur in his infancy, and later visits him. She is the only human in the story capable of understanding nonhuman conversation. Templeton is a rat who helps Charlotte and Wilbur only when offered food. He serves as a somewhat caustic, self-serving comic relief to the plot. Avery Arable is the elder brother of Fern. Homer Zuckerman is Fern’s uncle who keeps Wilbur in his barn. Other animals in Zuckerman’s barn, with whom Wilbur converses, are a disdainful lamb, a talkative goose, and an intelligent "old sheep". Henry Fussy is a boy of Fern’s age, of whom Fern becomes fond of. Dr. Dorian is the family physician/psychologist consulted by Fern's mother and something of a wise old man character. Uncle is a large pig whom Charlotte disdains for coarse manners and Wilbur’s rival at the fair.

Collects three classic stories about animals trying to find friendship, love, and their place in the world.

Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web—the best-selling children's paperback of all time—was described by its author as "a story of friendship and salvation on a farm." If you've already read the book, you know about the friendship that grows between Wilbur, a runty pig, and Charlotte, a heroic spider. But you may not know that the book's author, E. B. White, was himself a friend to animals.

Charlotte's Web
Saving a Pig's Life	Wilbur was rescued three times 1.      Fern 2. Words 3. Charlotte
The end of the story	It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. → Not only the meaning of the book, but also the writer is praising himself.

• Presidential Medal of Freedom

  

 The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with the comparable Congressional Gold Medal—the highest civilian award of the United States. It recognizes those people who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors". The award is not limited to U.S. citizens and, while it is a civilian award, it can also be awarded to military personnel and worn on the uniform.

It was established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, superseding the Medal of Freedom that was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945 to honor civilian service during World War II.

Mockingbird

Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the Mimidae family. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession.

Mockingjay (飢餓遊戲)

Mockingjay is a 2010 science fiction novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is the last installment of The Hunger Games, following 2008's The Hunger Games and 2009's Catching Fire. The book continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, who agrees to unify the districts of Panem in a rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol. The hardcover and audiobook editions of Mockingjay were published by Scholastic on August 24, 2010, six days after the ebook edition went on sale. The book sold 450,000 copies in the first week of release, exceeding the publisher's expectations. It received a generally positive reaction from critics.The novel was adapted into two films, with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 released in November 2014 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 released a year later.

• Idiomatic expression

Idiomatic expressions are a type of informal English that have a meaning different from the meaning of the words in the expression.
e.g. Hold your tongue: This idiom does not actually mean that you should stick your fingers in your mouth and grab a hold of your tongue. It means that you shouldn't talk.

• Apple of Discord

  

An apple of discord is a reference to the Golden Apple of Discord which, according to Greek mythology, the goddess Eris tossed in the midst of the feast of the gods at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis as a prize of beauty, thus sparking a vanity-fueled dispute among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War. Thus, "apple of discord" is used to signify the core, kernel, or crux of an argument, or a small matter that could lead to a bigger dispute.

"To the Fairest"	In some later sources, Eris inscribed on the apple "for the fair" or "to the fairest" before tossing it. The most popular version of the inscription is ΤΗΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗΙ.[4] Καλλίστῃ is the dative singular of the feminine superlative of καλός, beautiful. In Latin sources, the word is formosissima.
Fair	1.      If a situation is fair, everyone is treated equally and in a reasonable way 2.      At the fair

• Fantasy (supernature / imaginary words )

  

Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Magic and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three, all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction.

In popular culture, the fantasy genre is predominantly of the medievalist form. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy comprises works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works.

• Winnie-the-Pooh And The Royal Birthday

  

As Her Majesty The Queen celebrates her official 90th birthday, a very special bear is also celebrating 90 years.

This October we’re celebrating Winnie-the-Pooh’s 90th anniversary, which marks 90 years since his first arrival in the Hundred Acre Wood. With Her Majesty The Queen and Winnie-the-Pooh both celebrating 90 years, it only seems fitting that these two much-loved British icons should finally meet.

Step into the unforgettable journey of Pooh and his friends as they travel from the Hundred Acre Wood to London, to deliver their thoughtful 90th birthday presents to The Queen.

From riding on an open-top red bus, to taking in the sights including Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace.

Vocabulary

Astro- / Aster: study of stars; relating to the planets and stars or space
Astrology:	The study of the movement of the stars and planets and how some people think they influence people’s characters and lives
Astronaut:	Someone who travels and works in space
Astronomy:	The scientific study of the stars, planets, and other objects in the universe
Asterisk	The symbol *. In a piece of writing, an asterisk is used after a word or phrase to show that more information is given in a footnote