-
it'll make a grown man cry Aug 13, 2001 (313 of 323 found this helpful)
Leslie was more than his friend; she was his other, more exciting, self, his way to Terabithia and all the worlds beyond. -Bridge to Terabithia
Okay, before I make this unmanly confession, let me first state in my own defense that I have two small children and I was listening to the conclusion of this book at a very early hour, before I'd even had breakfast to fortify me for the day. That said, I'll now acknowledge that I very nearly started sobbing...
In 1976, Katherine Paterson's son David was 8 years old when his friend, Lisa Hill, was struck by lightning and killed. A year later Bridge to Terabithia was published, winning a Newberry Medal and becoming, if such a thing is possible, an instant classic. Ms Paterson drew upon this personal tragedy to create the story of a boy, Jess Aarons, and a girl, Leslie Burke, in rural Virginia, who become the best of friends. Jess is the middle child, and only son, of a reticent father, who struggles to earn a living. Leslie is the daughter, and only child, of two successful writers who have moved to the country, next door to the Aarons, for lifestyle reasons.
The friendship between the two kids is hesitant at first, particularly after Leslie usurps Jess's title as the fastest runner in their 5th grade class at Lark Creek Elementary. But both have some trouble fitting in with theirs peers, Jess because of his interest in Art, Leslie because of her scholastic ability and her parents' very 70s social attitudes (like not having a TV), and this shared awkwardness gives them a unique bond. Leslie creates an imaginary kingdom called Terabithia for them to rule over, accessible only be a rope swing over a local creek. The imaginary adventures they share there and a series of incidents at school bring the two closer and closer together. But then an ugly reality intrudes upon their idyllic world and the various characters are forced to deal with a tragic death. To say more might ruin the story, so let's leave it at that.
I understand that the use of this book in classrooms is frequently challenged by parents. If the reason for this is that they feel that the central crisis of the book may be too intense for children, I can sympathize with their feeling. But it seems like an intensity that is well worth their children's while. Ms Paterson handles the situation quite beautifully and affords a real opportunity for parents to discuss the matter of death with their kids, a topic which most families hopefully haven't much had to cope with. Reading the book is a difficult emotional experience, but better to first confront these emotions in a controlled fictional setting and begin to learn how to deal with them, than to remain totally sheltered and have to deal with them, completely unprepared, when the tragedy is real.
GRADE : A
-
Tragic story, 1978 Newbery Medal-winner, will make you cry. Aug 24, 2000 (106 of 117 found this helpful)
CHARACTERS: Jesse Oliver Aarons, Jr., a ten-year-old boy, middle child in a family of four sisters, whose parents are desperately poor; and Leslie Burke, new girl from the city whose arrival forever changes Jesse's life and the attitudes of the students at Lark Creek Elementary School.
SUMMARY: Young Jesse, who lives in poverty in the countryside in Virgnia, has big plans for the first week of school: he's run hard all summer and is sure he's now the fastest boy in fifth grade. Despite the fact that his dream is shattered by the arrival of a lean, lanky girl named Leslie Burke who moves to his school district from Arlington, Jesse and the newcomer become best friends. She never gloats over the fact that SHE is the fastest kid in the class, and the fact that the two are outcasts at school draws them into friendship.
Together the two find, name, and create a magical kingdom in the woods that they reach by swinging across a creek on a rope tied to a tree limb. Jesse and Leslie keep Terabithia their secret, telling neither family nor schoolmates about the hours of make-believe fun they spend there. They name themselves king and queen of Terabithia and play elaborate games almost every day.
Leslie's parents are attractive, educated professional writers who left their busy lives in the city for the simplicity and quiet of the country. The Burkes begin fixing up an old house close to Jesse's, and Jesse proves himself quite handy with carpentry and electrical repairs. When the weather is unfit for playing in the woods, Jesse and Leslie help Mr. Burke at home.
Jesse has a crush on the beautiful music teacher who was new to the school district the previous year. Fearing ridicule from his family (particulary his father) and classmates, Jesse has shown his artwork only to Miss Edmunds. One rainy day she invites Jesse to accompany her to Washington DC to see the National Gallery. Jesse is awed by the fabulous works of art, and regrets only that he didn't think to ask his teacher if Leslie could come with them.
When he returns from Washington, Jesse learns at a tender age how irrevocably one's life can change in the course of one short day.
IMPRESSIONS: This was required reading for a children's literature course that I took; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have chosen it on my own, judging solely by the title. However, "Bridge to Terabithia" is an excellent book. It's a quick read, but one that will leave you crying for hours--which is exactly what you want from a book sometimes!
-
Wonderful! Feb 23, 1999 (29 of 36 found this helpful)
"I'm Leslie. You could say I have the kind of name that goes backwards and forwards." Jess Aarons is timid enough worrying about being the fastest runner in the fifth grade. But when Leslie Burke (or Burke Leslie) moves next door, Jess's life changes. Leslie is something else when she beats the fifth grade boys in a race. But that's not all. To straighten out their lives, she and Jess make up an imaginary kingdom called Terabitha. Life there is wonderful - unlike their own lives. Jess has sisters who don't understand him and a father who thinks drawing "is one of the horrible things that school teaches you" and Leslie's parents don't own a TV, which makes her the outcast of the fifth grade. Yet when Jess gets a chance to go to the Museum of Natural History on a very rainy day, he just has to take Leslie with him. But his teacher wants just each other, and so they go. Yet, when Jess returns home "your girl-friend's dead, and Momma thought you were dead too" - he finds out Leslie has died. This book I first read in third grade and a friend told me it was sad. I checked it out of the school library... and put it down on my desk to remember. Unfortunately, the next day, I found out someone had returned it! I never found it in the library again, but now, finding it in a bookstore, I have read it millions of times and thought it was a good book to read if you are struggling with loss. If you finish this book read "The Great Gilly Hopkins" or "Lyddie" - these three books define the time of growing up, and are three wonderful books!
P.S. "The Great Gilly Hopkins" and "Bridge To Terebitha" were Newbery Honors and Award.
-
Inappropriate for children under age 12 Jul 26, 2004 (28 of 79 found this helpful)
Parents, if this is a required book for school as it was for our fourth graders, please read it first so you can either complain to the school or help your child through it. Parents are clueless that this book contains numerous uses of the Lord's name in vain as well as profanity; discontented and despairing children in an uncaring world; a pointless death with no redemption; and warped theology. As if that weren't enough, the book dispels the children's happy myth of Santa Claus (...there wasn't enough money to buy my little sister presents from Santa at Christmas), and a confusing sexual reference when the main character's sister tells him to look away while she's dressing (...I realized that she thinks I'm enjoying it). Children should not have to confront issues like those presented in the book until they are ready.
-
A great book for adults/young adults -- not kids Dec 4, 2002 (25 of 35 found this helpful)
I read this book shortly after it was published, in my "ample free time" as a teacher. The rest of the staff all raved about it. I didn't care for it.
It's reasonably well written, the storyline is easy to follow, the two central characters are reasonably well developed, and it is very good at pulling you around by your emotions.
But instead of being a reasonably accurate portrayal of a 10- to 12-year-old's coming-of-age, it always strikes me as being some adult's fantasy about how a child might respond emotionally to tragedy (or pathos), if only he or she happened to have an adult's experience and perspective.
It does not surprise me to learn that the books was inspired by a terrible loss in the author's personal life: the book's measured and ultimately didactic feel makes one assume that it was written to exorcise personal grief and to share Truths which were purchased at great personal cost.
I personally didn't care for the book, and it didn't ring true for me (or apparently for many students), but it does seem to appeal to adults, particularly the caring, child-centered, empathetic, motherly sort of person that typifies the majority of suburban elementary school teachers.
In some schools, "Bridge" is a standard book for about the fourth or fifth grade. The level of understanding that these students usually have is: "They didn't like each other because she could run faster, then they were friends, then she died, and it was sad."
Ten-year-olds, however, do not really understand what they author is saying about making friends, the value of imagination, the nature of human relationships, the effect of emotions, the presence of death, the enormity of grief -- even the futility of saying anything after a funeral, and the importance of saying it anyway.
In other words, they aren't able to understand why this book is Real Literature, and not Just Another Book for practicing reading skills.
If your goal is to introduce a discussion of affective issues, I'd suggest that you save this book for junior high or even lower high school students, instead of giving it to the upper-elementary school students upon whom this book is usually inflicted: Just because the average fourth grader can decode the words on the pages does NOT mean that they have enough experience (maturity) to understand what the author wants to tell them.
(I'd make an exception for a grief-related student support group: if a fourth-grader has actually lost a friend or family member, then he or she would be in a better position to understand the purpose of the book.
But most 9- to 12-year-olds [and those who teach them] are encouraged to steer clear of this book.)