Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
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Book Reviews of Bridge to Terabithia
Book Review: Parents, listen up
Summary: 5 Stars
While I respect parents looking out for their children, I think someone should listen up for a moment and take note of one fact. While many children complain that this book is "boring", we must remember that most fifth-grade children call any book that they did not choose for themselves as boring. In this day and age, children are not satisfied with books, as they require a slightly longer attention span than the television set. Those claims have now been tossed out the window.
Now... parents. Sometimes mild censoring of books is understandable. Children should not read books with explicit sex scenes, mostly because they wouldn't understand what's going on. Children should probably not read books like "Mein Kampf" and get the impression that this is right. However, are we now to declare such simple and basic concepts as friendship and death as "inappropriate for children"? Isn't it the opposite? These books prepare children for the inevitable. Sometimes accidents happen. Grandparents, parents, family, and friends can all die. Fifth graders know what "death" means. Are we to shelter them forever?
Of course not. I read this book in fifth or fourth grade, and I loved it. I started crying, and crying. This book made me feel so many emotions, and that's what the purpose of a really good book is. Should we all read action-packed books with no feeling? Of course not! This portrays friendship and the loss of a friend in such a clear, solemn way. We see how Jesse (the main character) struggles to deal with this. He's only a kid, after all. We feel it all - without actually going through that pain.
Regarding other claims about this book that it is not for children, let us remember one thing. These are children in the book. They think like children. They act like children. Their friendships and ties and feelings are those of children. Adults and older teens tend to find this book "boring". It is not intended for adults, but for kids to read and grow.
I read this as a kid, and I loved it. I read it today, and I love it. It's bound to bring tears to your eyes and is so powerful and wonderful every time you read it. Every child reader will love and appreciate this book.
Book Review: An Amazing Book To Be Read By All
Summary: 5 Stars
Bridge to Terabithia is an amazing book. It give you a chance to see that your really don't have to go along with the crowd. It's ok to be different. This book has so many moods that change often throughout the book. The story has two main characters. There is a boy named Jesse and a girl named Leslie. Jesse lives on a farm with his Mom, Dad, and four sisters. Leslie lives with her Mom and Dad. Jesse has trained all summer to be the fastest runner in fifth grade. The day of the big race Leslie asks if she can run. She ends up winning her heat and beats Jesse. Leslie is new to the school and has trouble making friends. Finally Jesse and Leslie begin to talk at home and go for a walk. They find a spot in the forest near their homes. They decide to make it a make-believe place where they can go and hang out. They call it Terabithia. For a Christmas present Jesse gives Leslie a dog. She names it Prince Terrien (P.T for short). Leslie gives Jesse a paint set because he loves to draw but doesn't have the supplies he needs. At their school there is a girl named Janice Avery who is the school bully. My favorite part was when Jesse and Leslie write a fake note to Janice telling her a boy likes her. They tell her to miss the bus so the boy can walk her home. As the bus pulls away from the school they see Janice standing there waiting. A few days later Leslie finds out that Janice's dad beats her, and she can't do anything about it. Leslie feels guilty. Towards the end of the book, Jesse gets to go on a trip to the Art Museum with his teacher. When he returns he finds out that Leslie fell while trying to go to Terabithia, hit her head and died. He runs out of the house and to Leslie's home. He can't believe that his best friend is gone. He is so upset that he throws his art set into the river. At the end of the book Jesse builds a bridge from the bank near his house to the bank were Terabithia is. The very last thing he does is takes his little sister across to Terabithia. He bends down and asks her if she can hear what the people are saying. He then tells her that everyone is saying the next Queen of Terabithia is coming.Book Review: A place, just for us.
Summary: 5 Stars
I almost cried, and I'm not the crying type. I'm the kind of man who breaks things with sledge hammers and swordfights in the backyard. And despite my best effort, my eyes started sweating.
Ten-year-old Jesse Oliver Aarons Jr. wants to be the fastest boy at Lark Creek Elementary. The biggest event on the school playground is the races, and Jesse only won once all last year. So all summer long, he wakes up early each morning to go running, before coming home and milking the cow. It's going to be his be secret, his glorious claim to fame. Summer's ending, school's starting back up, and Jesse's going to win.
Then Leslie Burke moves into the old Perkins place down the street (her parents are "reassessing their value structure). And even though she obliterates the boys in the races and ruins the fun for the whole year, she and Jesse find a way to become friends. The best of friends.
"Do you know what we need?" Leslie asks him. "We need a place, just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it."
And Terabithia is born. A place of imagination and friendship, secrets and love. A place where an ordinary boy and girl can rule as king and queen, inventing adventures that they can enjoy together. A place to escape from family and friends who won't let you be who you want to be. A place that can only be entered by swinging across an enchanted rope.
The resulting story is a moving look into the grief one experiences after a tragic accident. With careful and elegant brushstrokes, Peterson paints a canvas rich with the vibrancy of youth, the depth of friendship, and the dark hues of religion and life that sometimes color our journey through life.
If you haven't read this one, treat yourself to a quality novel. 1978 Newbery Award Winner, BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is worth the time.
--- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens
Book Review: Lessons Galore: Grief, Financial Challenges, Compassion, Differences, Sameness, Love...
Summary: 5 Stars
Last Spring, I sat at my desk and heard my nine-year-old daughter, Emma, making some gulping sounds from the couch across the room. Then I heard some unusual, animal-type sounds from her direction. I saw the book she was holding bob up and down. I looked past the book to her face and there were tears streaming down her cheeks.
Right then she broke out in deep, heaving sobs.
We went to see the movie shortly after that - and we both sobbed, even when we knew what was coming. I think I even said, "Oh, no," aloud to the screen, as if my dismay could change the outcome.
It took me several months to have the courage to read this book - and I am glad that I finally did.
Bridge the Terabithia is the story of a young boy named Jess from a not-so-well-off family whose only dream - to be the fastest kid in school - who befriends the girl who snatches that dream away from him by running faster than any of the boys at Lark Creek School. Turns out Leslie - the girl, who moves into an old farmhouse near Jess' house - becomes one of Jess' great life teachers in more ways than one.
Together they create the magical land of Terabithia, a place in the woods that becomes a safe haven as well as a place to come to understand some things that can't be explained using "regular" terms... to "regular kids"... Jess and Leslie are neither.
This book is written, I am guessing, for fifth and sixth graders, primarily, but even younger children through adults could glean a lot from its pages. It could be seen as a simple story, but there are many layers to it.
Parents ought to read it, too, so they can discuss the variety of issues that are raised in the pages - from parents being laid off, to art and music, to understanding and compassion, to dealing with difficult siblings and how to get along with others.
Excellent read.
Book Review: cornwall new york i am a sixth grader the bridge to terabithia
Summary: 5 Stars
Cornwall N.Y. sixth grader
I am a sixth grader The Bridge to Terabithia is a very good book filled with action, excitement, adventure, and imagination. I really enjoyed this book a lot, I am normalcy picky about fiction book but this one stood out to me. I like the characters in this book a lot there names are Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke. I think these characters fit this book very well. This book is also very, very surprising I would like to tell u a very good part of the book that surprised me but, I wouldn't want to give away any very good parts of the book. One of the parts I will tell you about is when Jess is training all summer to be the fastest runner in the whole fifth grade but that all changed when he got a new neighbor Leslie Burke. It was the fist day back at school and all the kids were racing Jess thought he would be the fastest but, he was beaten buy Leslie. You are probably wondering why it is called the Bridge to Terabithia. Well it's called that because Leslie doesn't have a T.V. so she uses her imagination so one day she and Jess make an imaginary land were they go on many pretend quest to save there imaginary Kingdom. That is why i like this book alot.