Stuart Little facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | E. B. White |
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| Illustrator | Garth Williams |
| Cover artist | Garth Williams |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
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Publication date
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1945 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 128 |
Stuart Little is a famous children's book written by E. B. White in 1945. It was the first children's book he ever wrote. Today, it's known as a classic story that many kids love. The pictures in the book were drawn by Garth Williams, who later became a very famous artist. This was also his first time illustrating a children's book.
The story is about a boy named Stuart Little. He is very small, like a mouse, but he is a human boy. The book mixes real-life events with amazing, make-believe parts. The first chapter says he "looked very much like a rat/mouse in every way."
Contents
How the Story Began
E. B. White once wrote a letter explaining how he thought of Stuart Little. He said that many years ago, he was sleeping on a train. During the night, he dreamed about a tiny boy who acted a lot like a mouse. That dream was the start of the Stuart Little story.
He had this dream in 1926 while traveling back to New York. White wrote down some short stories about Stuart. He would tell these stories to his 18 nieces and nephews when they asked for a tale.
In 1935, White's wife, Katharine, showed these stories to a writer named Clarence Day. Day liked the stories and told White to keep working on them. At first, no publishers were interested, so White didn't do much more with them right away.
Later, in 1938, a librarian named Anne Carroll Moore read something White wrote about children's books. She told him to write a children's book that would "make the library lions roar." White's editor at Harper heard about the Stuart stories from Katharine. By 1939, they wanted to publish the book. White finished writing it in 1944-1945.
Stuart's Amazing Adventures
Stuart's Birth and Family Life
The story begins with a boy named Stuart being born into a normal family in New York City. The surprising thing is that he is only about two inches tall and looks exactly like a mouse! At first, his family worries about how such a tiny person will live in a big human world.
But Stuart is very clever and adapts well. By age seven, he acts and thinks like a sixteen-year-old. He even helps his family with tricky tasks, like fishing his mother's wedding ring out of a sink drain. The family cat, Snowbell, doesn't like Stuart. Snowbell feels a natural urge to chase Stuart, but he knows Stuart is part of the human family and is off-limits.
Margalo the Bird
One cold winter day, the family finds a songbird named Margalo. She is half-frozen on their doorstep. They bring her inside, and she stays with them for the winter. Margalo and Stuart become good friends. Stuart even protects her from Snowbell.
Margalo returns Stuart's kindness by saving him when he gets trapped in a garbage can and is sent out to sea. In the spring, Margalo is set free but still visits Stuart. This makes Snowbell very angry because now he has two small animals he can't eat!
Stuart's Quest
Snowbell makes a deal with another cat to eat Margalo. Margalo is warned and quickly flies away in the middle of the night. Stuart is very sad but decides he must find her. He first visits his friend, Dr. Carey, who is a dentist.
A patient there suggests Margalo might have flown to Connecticut. Dr. Carey lends Stuart his small, gas-powered toy car for the long trip. Stuart travels and has many adventures.
A New Friend and a Broken Boat
Stuart arrives in a town called Ames Crossing. He takes a job as a substitute teacher there. He learns about a fifteen-year-old girl named Harriet Ames who is the same size as him but looks like a human. Stuart buys a tiny souvenir canoe and gets it ready for a boat ride.
He invites Harriet on a date. But when they arrive, local children have found and ruined the canoe. Harriet tries to be polite, but Stuart gets upset about his broken boat. Stuart decides to leave Ames Crossing and keep looking for Margalo. He drives off in his car, wondering if he will ever see her again.
Book to Screen: Adaptations
Audio Versions
The book has been turned into audio recordings. Actress Julie Harris read the entire story for LP records. Later, this recording was released on audio cassettes and CDs.
Movie Adaptations
The book was made into a 1999 live-action and computer-animated movie called Stuart Little. The movie changed some parts of the story. In the film, Stuart is adopted by the Little family, and the plot is about him looking for his real parents. Snowbell also tries to get rid of him.
A sequel, Stuart Little 2, came out in 2002. This movie included the character Margalo and followed the book's story more closely. A third movie, Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild, was released straight to video in 2006. This film was fully computer-animated and had a completely new story. None of the movies included the part where Stuart was a substitute teacher.
Hugh Laurie played Mr. Little, Geena Davis played Mrs. Little, and Michael J. Fox was the voice of Stuart Little in all three films. In 2015, it was announced that a new Stuart Little movie is being planned. It will also mix live-action and computer animation.
Television Shows
"The World of Stuart Little" was a TV episode in 1966. It was part of NBC's Children's Theater and was narrated by Johnny Carson. It won an award called a Peabody Award. An animated TV series, Stuart Little: The Animated Series, was also made. It was based on the movies and aired for 13 episodes in 2003.
Video Games
Three video games have been made based on the Stuart Little movies.
- Stuart Little: the Journey Home came out in 2001 for the Game Boy Color. It was based on the 1999 movie.
- A game based on Stuart Little 2 was released in 2002 for PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft Windows.
- A third game, Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure, came out in 2005 only for the PlayStation 2.
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Stuart Little (novela) para niños
