Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. HarperTeen, 2004. ISBN 0060734019

Plot

Jesse Aarons is the only boy in a family of five children in rural Virgina. Jesse "Jess" feels that his mother cares more about his sisters than him while his father is always away working and never has time for them. May Belle his little sisters adores and admires Jesse, always wanting to spend time with him. Leslie Burke is an only child who moves from into the same neighborhood as Jesse. Her parents spend a lot of time with her and are well off. Jess and Leslie soon become close friends after Leslie beats him on a running race. Jess shares his secret love of drawing with Leslie, and Leslie shares with Jess her love of fantasy stories. With this new friendship, the two create an imaginiary kingdom in the woods named Terabithia and declare themselves King and Queen. They spend every day after school and on weekends there adding new things and facing new adventures. Terabithia becomes a place where they both can escape and face their problems in but everything changes after an incident occurs that leaves Jess feeling guilty and Terabithia without a queen.

Critical Evaluation

This novel told very well deals with friendship and lost through death. When Jess leaves Leslie instead of doing the usual Terabithia adventure, Leslie falls into the creek that one must swing over to enter Terabithia and drowns. Leslie was his best friend and feels grief stricken and fault for her death. Children who have lost a friend would relate to the emotions of Jess.

Reader's Annotation

Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke become best friends and create a land of imagination, Terabithia, where they live and act as they please away from the real world. An incident occurs that ends their friendship forever.

Information about the Author

Paterson was inspired to write this novel after a friend of her son was struck and killed by lightning. In 1978, this novel was a Newbery novel.

Genre

Fiction

Curriculum Ties

English

Booktalking Ideas

1) Read an excerpt from book: when Jess and Leslie first enter Terabithia

2) Discussion about best friends? How would they feel if they lost them?

Reading Level/Interest Age

8 - 12

Why included in selection?

It has always been on my list of must reads.