Name: Bridge to Terabithia
Rating: 3.934535104364326 (527 reviews)
ISBN: 9781553193333

Katherine Paterson

Marie-Helen Goyetche

Literature guide that discusses the dramatic and fascinating story of friendship between Jesse Aarons and Leslie Burke.

Grades 5 - 6

Bridge to Terabithia

raia – inactive

“They found the Burke girl this morning down in the creek.”

“No,” he said straight at May Belle. “It’s a lie. Leslie ain’t dead.”

He ran until he was stumbling but he kept on, afraid to stop. Knowing somehow that running was the only thing that could keep Leslie from being dead. It was up to him. He had to keep going.

“Your mother and I thought we ought to go down to the neighbors and pay respects.” His father cleared his throat. “I think it would be fitting for you to come, too.” He stopped again. “Seeing’s you was the one that really knowed the little girl.”

“Your friend Leslie is dead, Jesse. You need to understand that."

All summer, Jess pushed himself to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade, and when the year's first school-yard race was run, he was going to win.But his victory was stolen by a newcomer, by a girl, one who didn't even know enough to stay on the girls' side of the playground. Then, unexpectedly, Jess finds himself sticking up for Leslie, for the girl who breaks rules and wins races. The friendship between the two grows as Jess guides the city girl through the pitfalls of life in their small, rural town, and Leslie draws him into the world of imaginations world of magic and ceremony called Terabithia. Here, Leslie and Jess rule supreme among the oaks and evergreens, safe from the bullies and ridicule of the mundane world. Safe until an unforeseen tragedy forces Jess to reign in Terabithia alone, and both worlds are forever changed. In this poignant, beautifully rendered novel, Katherine Paterson weaves a powerful story of friendship and courage.

Karpe Diez

What a delightful story! If, like me, you ever decide to start a family book club during Covid (or any) time, this is a perfect book for all ages. A story about frustrations and rewards of growing up with siblings, carefully making way among school bullies and geeks, walking the thin rope in relating to adults (and getting their right attention). A story also about true friendship and the way it can enrich our spirit and leave a permanent luminous mark on our souls. A story about bridges to that marvelous world of wonder, bridges that get gradually hidden in the fogginess of growing up, with every year passing...

Haylie

Yeah I read this in 4th grade and it made me cry while we read it in class. I don't think the movie does the book justice though.

Kirsten Simkiss

Honestly, it’s 12:18 AM and I should not have started this book so late because now I’m crying in bed and my cat thinks I’ve well and truly lost it. Bridge to Terabithia is a great story. I have yet to see the movie (I’m almost afraid to really) because I feel like they’ll concentrate too much on Terabithia itself with the fancy graphics teased in the trailer and not enough on the real world.

This book is about two very different children learning from each other and a great loss at the end that, even now, makes me cry. I mean, I’m kind of a sucker for sad things in movies, but books don’t often get me. It’s good to know that after all these years, this one still does.

The world of rural Virginia is still very much the same. The underprivileged still suffer, abuse still happens, and gender roles are still strictly enforced. Really, one could pretend this were any year and probably still see the small back water town the book gives you as it’s world. The characters too withstand the test of time. If this book didn’t have a giant medal stating 1978 on the cover, you’d probably have no idea when it was written were it not for the pricing of things in the story ($3 for a lunch at the Smithsonian - god what a steal.)

I definitely recommend this book. I also definitely recommend a box of tissues for the last third.

mighty dragon 

Trever

** spoiler alert **
           The only thing I remember about this is that she dies, I think in the ravine.

The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.

Noah Warner

** spoiler alert **
           4.6-4.8 stars
Wow. What can I say that hasn’t been said…
This book is powerful, from showing the importance of a child’s imagination, to how difficult it can be to cope over a tragic event and how coping is drastically different for everyone. This book is also so well written, and kept me going, “just one more chapter…” until all 13 were over and I was just sitting on my bed with tears in my eyes. I really hope the movie portrays the book well, but I really don’t want to see it, I’m sure they focused on the magical element way too much in the movie, which, while isn’t bad, is annoying considering that it’s a small part of the book compared to the other themes the book talked about.

The 40th anniversary edition of the classic Newbery Medal-winning title by beloved author Katherine Paterson, with brand-new bonus materials including an author's note by Katherine herself and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo. Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie's house, where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief. Bridge to Terabithia was also named an ALA Notable Children’s Book and has become a touchstone of children’s literature, as have many of Katherine Paterson’s other novels, including The Great Gilly Hopkins and Jacob Have I Loved.

Aly Valenz

Bridge to Terribithia is about a boy named Jesse Aaron’s. All he ever cared about was being the fastest runner in the fifth grade. ( boys only ) He could’ve been , that is … until Leslie moved to town. At first he thought she was odd, that is until  Leslie shows him how powerful imagination can truly be.

Analise Amaral

This book is very important to me. It was first read to me in class as a 5th grader. I just now finished my junior year of high school and every time I read or think of this book I think fo how it made me feel back then and how my 5th grade teacher sounded as she read it, also how the ending hurt the whole class and left us amazed. This book is for sure one that impacted my childhood reading and I’ll always be grateful for 5th grade me giving it a chance, so I for sure recommend.

Georgia Carr

Chris Aldrich

Somehow I not only missed this as a kid, but I apparently never even read the book jacket as it wasn't anything at all like what I'd expected given the covers I'd seen over the years. A nice way to spend an hour and a half, but really, I should have read it when I was 10.

Bridge To Terabithia

Euodias

Jessica Williamson

2.75

I didn't love this but I didn't hate it either?

Honestly, the end is what brought it around for me. The rest of it was just boring. 

I knew the big "drama" that happens so I wasn't shocked but man did the aftermath shake me! 

Yeah, the end it was saved this. Otherwise, just another boring classic. I'm not a classic reader. And I know that.

Jayarna La Bozzetta

Had to bump it up to 5 stars for the ending. Actually made me tear up.

Jeni Enjaian

A review from my old blog...

In most cases I wish that I had read the book before I saw the movie based on it but in this case I am glad that I saw the movie first. I don't think that I would have wanted to watch the movie if I had known about the major twist that I caught only one allusion before hand too in the book. (I caught this only because I already knew what was coming).

While I don't agree with Paterson's worldview the book is excellent.

Barbara Rosas

Esta historia me enamoro, me encanto y me rompió el corazón.
Me quede sin palabras.

Bridge to Terabithia Grades 5 - 6

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