children's books, again

Why, someone asks, are The Wind in the Willows, and Charlotte's Web, on my list of essential books for children? Two excellent reasons are that both describe magical worlds where animals talk and as far as feasible, act like human beings, their actions and their values resemble the actions and the values of several easily recognizable kinds of human beings; children can learn a great deal about human values from what they hear or read about the actions and motives of Ratty and Mole, Badger and Toad; and Fern, Charlotte, Templeton, and of course Wilbur, the runty piglet who becomes the prize-winning pig in the middle of it all. And the second good reason why children should read these two great books, or have parents or others read to them from these books, is that they are written in language that is the best that English can offer, language as rich as Shakespeare, if perhaps a little simpler, but not dumbed down, never patronizing, but as often capable of evoking tears as laughter. No one need ask more of great prose than that!