Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia

Author: Katherine Patterson

Genre: Fiction

Major Awards: John Newbery Medal

Grade Level: 3-8

Summary: This book follows the story of an eleven-year-old boy named Jess. He has five sisters and is living deep in poverty. The reader quickly learns that Jess is very insecure because he feels the need to impress his father and be in the spotlight, but his true passion (although he does enjoy running), is art. Jess is afraid that his dad will think of him as a "sissy" instead of a man. Once school starts, a new girl named Leslie Burke comes along. Although Jess was unsure of her at first, the became best friends pretty quickly. They did receive some backlash at school, however, because boys and girls being best friends at their age was not very common. Not long after their friendship began, Leslie and Jess created the imaginary world of Terabithia in the forest across the creek. They were the queen and king and created fantasy games and had heartfelt conversations about their fathers. Leslie also shared classic stories with Jess to help support his passion for art. They become very close and celebrate holidays together and play together at school. Miss Edmunds, the music teacher, later invites Jess to visit the art galleries with her in Washington. Jess learns a lot and has a wonderful time. When he returns, however, he receives some of the worst news imaginable. Leslie drowned in the creek when she tried to cross it on the rope they used to go to Terabithia. Although Jess goes through a lot of suffering and starts to become insecure again, he decides that he must keep Leslie's memory alive. The story ends with Jess bringing his little sister, May Belle, to Terabithia and making her the new queen.

Evaluation: This was one of my favorites as a child, although it never gets easier to read. It is a very emotionally taxing book, but I love it nonetheless. I want my students to have the opportunity to enjoy this book and feel the emotions of the characters, so I will definitely have this in my future classroom.

Because this book deals with more mature themes, I think it is best suited for an older audience.

Like Because of Winn-Dixie, I would not want to ruin the experience of this book with a lesson or unit. I want my students to have the opportunity to enjoy it as it is and help them grow their love for reading.