I am continually amazed by and incredibly appreciative of E.B. White's writing, no matter whether his subject is spiders, pigs, roofing the barn, hurricanes, or war. He started writing essays around 1930 and continued for decades; his children's fiction was published about 70 years ago, and his writing is still relevant today with so much to offer current readers.
"Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth. They accept, almost without question, anything you present them with, as long as it is presented honestly, fearlessly, and clearly."
White expressed himself that way, honestly, fearlessly, and clearly, in all of his writing, and I always find something new in his honest clarity.
"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or doing laundry."
Reading E.B. White's writing, whether it is essays, letters, or fiction, gives me joy and hope.