To begin with, E.B. White’s beautifully detailed story of The Trumpet of the Swan has been a personal favorite of mine over the years, surpassing even the most coveted or widely celebrated novels I have read throughout the years.

Set in a whimsical America where animals and humans are able to communicate, a young boy, Sam Beaver, discovers an anomaly of sorts on his yearly trip to Montana. There, he meets Louis, a trumpeter swan–only a cygnet at the time–who cannot trumpet. In fact, he is entirely mute. Thus, Sam teaches Louis how to read and write, yet the stark reality still remains–Louis cannot mate if he is unable to express his feelings and “trumpet” his utmost adoration and love towards another swan. After Louis’ father breaks into a store to steal a trumpet to aid Louis’ unfortunate situation, Louis sets off on a journey to become a musician and to pursue a fellow swan, Serena. Louis’ hard work leads to more riveting events to unfold: he becomes a famed trumpet player, successfully woos Serena, and even creates a new family of his own.

Despite the delight of the story’s tale itself, White’s motivational message of persevering through difficulties only adds to the appeal, especially given that his stories are aimed towards kids. Similarly to how he addressed slightly darker themes in Charlotte’s Web (such as death), White effectively conveys the message of the societal/physical impact of disability to children in a mannerism that is comprehensible and easy to feel empathetic and/or compassionately towards at any age. 

Aside from Louis and Sam, the other side characters were quite surface-level, which allows readers to remain focused on solely Louis’ journey without feeling pressured to do so just because he is the main character. Furthermore, although the secondary characters–such as Sam’s father–were not incredibly detailed, that did not impact my overall satisfaction with the story. Rather, it allowed the story to flow more easily because there was less to keep up with. Although the plot was somewhat slower-paced at times and some portions of the story were a little less well-written, nonetheless, I personally felt it added to the charm of White’s writing style as a whole rather than take away from the novel.