What Am I Missing?

I just finished reading Stuart Little aloud to my 7-year-old and it left both of us a little perplexed.  First of all, I'm not sure I ever read it in its entirety as a child.  I have memories of the Central Park boat scene, but whether those are from actually reading the book (or part of it) or from some general source of cultural literacy, I'm not sure.  I had no recollection of the search for Margalo or the fact that the books ends (spoiler alert!) without her being found, which my daughter and I found very unsatisfying.  I also found Stuart's character inconsistent.  His can-do attitude during his search for Margalo and his substitute-teaching stint seemed to be directly at odds with his despair when his boating plan with Harriet doesn't work out.  Although the language and writing were enjoyable and the plot sometimes delightfully absurd, in the end I didn't see what all the fuss was about. 

Does anyone who loves it care to enlighten me?

Meta-Spoiler

I was so looking forward to sharing Charlotte's Web with my daughter.  But before we did, she read this book, which gave the ending away! 

Harrumph.

Of course, there are many reasons to read it besides the ending and we will do so anyway, but still...