For the record I am not an outwardly emotional person. Okay, let me get that right. I can be a bubbly energetic or excited individual from time to time. Of course, that isn't what I meant. I'm quite a content, optimistic kind of person so I am emotionally driven - very much so. What I mean to say is that I thrive in my life as a laconic, down to earth kind of person. I'm laid back and when it comes to outward expressions of emotion I tend to internalise. I would still consider myself an extroverted introvert it's just that it is very hard to visibly stun me, shock me or make me cry. I'm not insensitive. I just don't show my reactions most of the time.

So, why did I just spend countless sentences on my emotional personality? Mainly to try and convey the fact that this novel right here is one of the few to have rocked me emotionally. It made me raw at the end and it made me tear up. The film has a similar impact. In fact the film is a fairly strong adaptation of this sad, beautiful teardrop of a book.

Let me head off on another tangent. I love conclusions. Conclusions are almost my favourite part of any story, save for the fact that it means the book is over and you're left back in reality. However, for this book the conclusion was terrible, shocking, unacceptable. It was too emotionally moving. The happy ending I was expecting wasn't there. And that is why it is a brilliant book: trust me, read it and see if it doesn't touch you in some way. My one warning is that it is a children's novel of course.

2023 - ‘70’s Immersion Reading Challenge

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1977; 2003 ed.) 163 pages.

READING LEVEL 4.6 AR POINTS 5.0

Excellent! I really had no idea what this book was about. This story actually brought out some emotions from me. It’s been a long time since a book has done that.

I found myself giggling because the author captured the siblings quarrels so perfectly. The silly things they did and said to each other is exactly how it goes down with siblings.

I could relate to their castle and imagination over the creek and in the woods. We didn’t have castles, but we had make believe homes connected to each other by trails. It wasn’t over a creek. Our getaway was across the street, well away from parents.

I unexpectedly teared up at the end…more from the compassion 10-year-old Jesse Aaron’s father showed him…finally…after losing his good friend and neighbor, Leslie Burke.

.There are only two cuss words, p. 11 (hellhole) and p. 18 (bitch), but, putting that aside, this really is a story 4th and 5th graders will really enjoy and can relate to.

Books-to-Movie

Bridge to Terabithia (2007), starring Josh Hutcherson as Jesse Aarons and Annasophia Robb as Leslie Burke.

1/13/2023 UPDATE: I watched the movie with my daughter and four of my grandsons, aged 5-7. I looked over to see my daughter bawling her eyes out at the end. Of course we all were cracking up at her. The boys really enjoyed the movie. The forest was full of mythical creatures drawn up from the kids imagination. Quite different from the book, which was about kings and queens and things. We had to keep reminding the kids that this was all in their imaginations, and if they would get off those X-boxes and Nintendo games, and get outside and play, they could have imaginations too.

A BANNED BOOK

Evidently one of the most banned youth books in the U.S. because of its references to witchcraft and atheism and swearing, and is morbidly depressing for young minds. Since this was written for fourth to fifth graders, all of the above might be something to consider for young kids. I read this as an adult and thought it was all just their imaginations. But, the movie is different with mythical creatures and appears to just be kids imaginations of scary things in the woods.

Preciosísimo, creo que es sin duda la mejor palabra para de finir este libro, para mí es todo un clásico contemporáneo de la literatura infantil y juvenil, porque es de esos que aunque se supone que está dedicado para los niños, es tan profundo e intenso que no importa en absoluto a que edad lo leas, es igualmente disfrutable.

De lo primero que me gustaría hablar, es de la gran diferencia que yo creo que hay entre la novela y la película, en la película Terabithia es un lugar donde los niños se montan unas paranoias tremendas y tienen unas alucinaciones superlativas, y se utiliza para ambientar el lugar unas animaciones brutales, que casi parece que estés viendo Las crónicas de Narnia. Sin embargo, en la novela, Terabithia me ha dado lo impresión de ser algo más conceptual y filosófico, es el nombre que ellos le dan al único lugar en el mundo donde pueden sentirse libres y jugar a su aire, y dejar volar su imaginación, pero en ningún momento he sentido nada parecido al objetivo que tiene la adaptación, no sé si se me entiende. No digo que la película no me gustara, pero en este sentido el libro es mucho más bonito y realista.

Ahora voy a entrar a valorar los aspectos de la novela, voy a empezar con el estilo de Katherine Paterson, la verdad es que es muy bonito, es una prosa muy ágil y ligera, sin prácticamente descripciones y sin figuras retóricas, este es el aspecto en el que más se nota que es un libro infantil, pero nos demuestra que nada de esto es necesario para engancharte a su narrativa y que no quieras parar de leer, esta mujer nos deja frases preciosas. Ojalá y hubiese leído este libro en mi infancia o adolescencia, creo que en esos momentos necesitaba algo así.

Respecto a los personajes, me han encantado todos, pero sobre todo Jess, el protagonista, la creación de este personaje me ha parecido enormemente realista, todos sus miedos, inseguridades, su manera de actuar y evolucionar a lo largo de toda la novela, creo que es muy propia de un niño de 10 años, no hay nada que no cuadre en ningún momento. Leslie también me ha gustado mucho, es una niña muy fuerte y valiente, que posee un gran poder imaginativo, la relación de amistad entre estos dos personajes es bellísima, lo mejor es que vamos viendo cómo se construye poco a poco a lo largo de toda la historia hasta que se convierten en dos almas inseparables. Es un libro corto y está claro que los secundario no son tan profundos, pero para nada se notan de relleno o que no intervengan en la historia, al contrario, cada personaje es estrictamente necesario, mención especial a la profesora de música del colegio, la relación que Jess tiene con este personaje también es maravillosa.

En cuanto al desarrollo de la trama, no tiene grandes giros, excepto al final, claro está, pero esto se suple con lo realmente bonitas y elegantes que son todas y cada una de las escenas de este libro, que hablan de la infancia, de la inocencia, de la amistad, cumplir tus sueños sin importar lo que piensen los demás, y si lees un poco más entre líneas, también de la hipocresía social, de la falta de sensibilidad que tiene la mayoría de las personas para ciertos temas como el bullying, o el maltrato infantil. Incluso del significado de la religión en nuestras vidas. También me encantan todas lar referencias que se hacen a otras obras literarias y que se de a entender lo importante que puede ser el arte en nuestras vidas.

Vamos que para mí, toda una obra maestra, está a la altura del arte, y que el final me ha hecho llorar mucho, a pesar de que ya había visto la película y ya sabía cómo iba a terminar todo, pero aún así no he podido evitarlo, es que la novela te da una perspectiva de la historia diferente.

Of course I read this as a kid, but the only thing that stayed with me was Terabithia; the entire mundane plot (that is, 95% of the book) entirely vanished from my memory.

The class elements went right over my head as a kid, which is strange because they're so important to the book. Also, I often find now that when I read children's books, things seem unrealistically harsh to me -- but they didn't seem that way to me when I was the target age. Apparently I've forgotten a lot about being a kid.

One thing I haven't forgotten is how much strategy is required to be a kid, and this book captures that wonderfully. Jess is forever managing people -- to avoid getting beaten up by other kids, to avoid being punished by parents and teachers, to carve out a little time and privacy.

My chief problem with this book is that Jess actually is indirectly responsible for Leslie's death, and that's too heavy a responsibility to put on a kid. It's like writing a story in which the monster under the bed is a real monster.

Needing a short book before beginning another major reading challenge, I turned to this piece by Katherine Paterson. It’s one I enjoyed in upper elementary, though many of the details have slipped my mind, which makes a re-read all the more justifiable. Jess Aarons is eager to begin the fifth grade. He hopes to finally be able to call himself the fastest boy in school, having risen early to practice all summer long. When a new family moves in next door, Jess is curious to see what to make of them. Having moved from Arlington, Virginia, they are sure to have money and likely the attitude to go with it. When Jess meets Leslie Burke, she is nothing like he expected. A tomboy if ever there was one, Leslie befriends Jess and they are soon inseparable. While Jess must cede his chance to be the fastest in school, he and Leslie soon find new and exciting ways to spend their time. Realising that they enjoy one another’s company and could care less what others feel, they create a world all their own, where they can rule and lock the rest of humanity out. Terabithia is hereby created and the only means by which to access it is a rope tied to a tree. Jess and Leslie spend all their time there, hiding Terabithia from family and friends alike. When Jess is invited to go into Washington one day, he forgets to invite Leslie. Upon his return, he discovers what a truly horrible thing it was not to have reached out. A stunning piece that resonates with the reader and leaves them thinking, while also searching for a ray of hope. Recommended to those who need a little heartfelt emotion in a quick read, as well as those who enjoy young adult fiction with a deeper meaning.

There are times when you need to turn off your brain and choose something a little lighter to pass the time. I usually turn to young adult fiction for that, though I suppose some of the full-length fiction I read could be said to do that as well. This piece may be the former, but light it is not! Katherine Paterson develops an exceptional protagonist in Jess Aarons, who is loosely modelled after her own son. Jess comes from a poor family and has high hopes for his upcoming school year. The reader learns much about his backstory—the only boy, sandwiched between four sisters—and how he longs to have a companion all his own. Throughout the piece, Paterson offers up some wonderful character development as Jess befriends Leslie and things move forward. Emotions develop and turn to a sobering coming of age by the end of this tale. The number of secondary characters in this piece all serve to keep the story on its toes, while not becoming too burdensome. Paterson does a masterful job with Leslie Burke as well, as the young girl complements the protagonist while also shining in her own right. This is a story that is a mix of happiness, sadness, and revelation, allowing the reader of any age to take something away that they will not soon forget. Told in a mere fourteen chapters, Paterson compacts so much into a short book that the reader will surely extrapolate to carve out additional chapters for themselves. What might have continued happening on Terabithia? How could Jess and Leslie have continued to grow closer? What of the constant pains the Aarons family proved to be for Jess when he wanted solitude? Paterson uses a masterful narrative and dialogue to tell this story that will leave the reader wondering why things had to end as they did, but understanding the deeper message as they cross the bridge into Terabithia.

Kudos, Madam Paterson, for such a wonderful book. I think, given a year or so, my son will be ready for this adventure. I will make sure to introduce him to many of your other works as well!

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

When I read this in 5th grade, I really liked it for the first 75% of the story. Jess was kind of a moron, but Leslie was really cool, and I found myself wishing I had a friend who could make up great stories and imaginary worlds in our secret fort in the woods.

And then Katherine Paterson decided to smack me upside the head with the cold, dead fish of Reality. (I'm not sure how that metaphor was supposed to work, but I'm going with it because that's honestly how it felt)

Leslie DIED?!?!

I can still remember getting to that part of the book and just sitting there saying, "Wait, what? WHAT?" I refused to believe that anyone could DIE just by falling into a creek, and still think it's a really stupid way to kill off a character.

Read for: 5th grade English

A pesar de haber conocido la historia a través de esa película con Josh Hutcherson, fue un libro que disfrute demasiado. Es increíble el desarrollo de Jesse a partir de que conoce a Leslie y me conmueve d runa manera u otra lo que el amor inocente puede hacer y como la vida te puede quitar todo en un segundo.
Por alguna razón me recordó mucho a Looking for Alaska y no se si será cierto que se parecen o que pero vi muchas similitudes y eso me encanto.
Puedo verme releyendo este libro porque fue increíble. Definitivamente uno de mis favoritos.
Reseña completa en Gracias a los Libros.

“Ba-room, ba-room, ba-room, baripity, baripity, baripity, baripity”

Who wouldn’t read this if the first line of the book was this? The word ‘baripity’ is seen here and there in the book but I don’t know the proper meaning for it. Different sources convey different meanings which irked me a lot for I wanted to know it’s exact meaning. I had a great zeal in reading this and if you are wondering... I bawled my heart out.

n  n

What I loved about this book
~Childhood
~Gave me Nostalgia
~Relatable
~Writing
~Leslie
~It killed me
~The concept of Terabithia

What I didn’t like about this book

n  n

None!
This book is amazing people! You have to read this! What even better is that it’s not lengthy.

The Plot

In the book Bridge to Terabithia, two kids who are in fifth grade build themselves a world (not literally) away from their families and name it ‘Terabithia’. They spend their free time there even making a puppy as it’s guardian. A lot of people told me to prepare myself as the ending is said to be heartbreaking. I didn’t expect that at the ending.

The story was a bit slow paced but it didn’t matter to me much as it was not lengthy and descriptive. I found myself lost in the story of how Leslie and Jesse build their friendship and how they help themselves solve each other’s issue. They just like us bookworm chose a way of escaping reality except they do in the form of going to Terabithia. The beginning starts with Jesse practising hard to be the fastest kid in the fifth grade. Alas! Such things don’t happen for a story to go on.

I also want to talk about the plot twist at the end that’s the reason for breaking the hearts of thousand of people. I didn’t expect that! I came up with a lot of ideas that could make me cry at the end of the book THIS was not what I expected. Why Katherine? (Author)

The writing

One has to accept it. There are a lot of weird noises in the book. That bapity one is really confusing but so is

“Tra-la-la-la-la, he said to himself”

Like...what is that supposed to mean? I have never in my life said ‘Tra-la-la-la’ to myself.

n  n

There weren’t much sentences that are beautifully written except weird sounds. But I loved the style of the book. The pace matched with the theme. Everything about it seemed perfect except the ending. This is the only children’s book that made me cry so much.

“Lord, it would be better to be born without an arm than to go through life with no guts”

Characters

We don’t go into depth with so many characters but I will try to cover as much as I can.

Jesse Aarons

This is our main character. The ‘should be’ fastest runner in fifth grade.
He is really passionate about art though he is teased about it.
n  n

“Jess drew the way some people drink whiskey”

A bit selfish

“it was nice to have somebody who worshiped you. Even if it got unhandy sometimes”

And stupid

“She said he was "unusually talented," and she hoped he wouldn't let anything discourage him, but would "keep it up." That meant, Jess believed, that she thought he was the best”

He is not the strongest of characters... but he is one of the interesting ones I had the pleasure to meet. His father is always at work in Washington and comes home tired so he hasn’t been able to play with his father properly. He feels left out in the family as the others are females. I don’t exactly hate him for that because they are not the best kind of family one would want to be with. His younger sister May Belle is the only family member he likes being around with. His other two older sisters- Ellie(?) and Brenda are the sort of people everyone despises. They are rude, selfish and whenever they show up your day gets 100% better worse

His mother is not one worth mentioning because she didn’t have much character or role. One thing I hated about her is she didn’t care for Jesse. She was always seen scolding him. But I liked her a lot better at the end of the book. Though I have to say I liked the family cow much better (seriously!)

Jesse is also relatable. He wants to show off that he is not that weird kid who draws anymore. Did I mention he is also day-dreaming consistently while forgetting to do the house hold chores.

n  n

Oh and he was converted to a reader by Leslie. THREE CHEERS TO LESLIE

So, uh, this was not a fun read... but I don't meant that in the way you're probably expecting. While the core emotional theme of the novel (the handling of childhood grief) is a valuable one and reasonably well done here, what surrounds this aspect of the story is a regrettable product of its time.

From the standpoint of 1977, this was (if the banned books lists are to be believed) an offensively progressive story that children should never read.

From the standpoint of 2020, this is an offensively regressive story that children should never read.

This book is misogynistic from the first page to the very last. Jess and his father are walking toxic masculinity, none of which is ever questioned. The girls are all treated terribly, with the exception of A) the woman that Jess has a crush on and B) the little girl who's "not like other girls". Jess even punches one of his sisters in the face, and neither of his parents ever say a word about it because he's going through ~emotions~ (which is the most blatant co-signing of the idea that boys cannot be expected to handle their emotions and that boys can only be expected to express their emotions via anger and physical violence). Meanwhile, Leslie is the child version of a manic pixie dream girl, and the entire emotional weight of the story is in how she gets fridged.

To a lesser extent, the book also has problems with endorsing body-shaming, abuse, and Christian supremacy. The book goes out of its way to hatefully mock its overweight characters (there's a whole imagine spot about a teacher being sent to "one of those fat farms" where she will be "publicly humiliated in front of all the other fat ladies"); it heartily endorses the idea that reporting abuse is a "betrayal" and a failure on the part of the victim to "protect" their abuser; it goes out of its way to make clear that the soon-to-be-dead little girl is an agnostic/atheist character, and then proceeds to make it clear that her own opinions about religion do not matter and that she will absolutely be going to heaven anyway because, again, the choices of atheists and agnostics do not matter when they might stand in the way of Christians doing and thinking what they want.

Now, obviously, all of this is not to try to take away anyone's enjoyment of the novel. If you have a hearty nostalgia for the story because you read it during your childhood, that's great! Nothing at all wrong with nostalgia for works that maybe don't really hold up. But Bridge to Terabithia needs to be left in the realm of nostalgia; it does not belong in the world of 2020. Even beyond what I've outlined above, there's jokes about pedophiliac incest (why does the six-year-old girl know enough about sexuality to needle her brother about "looking at [her] that way"???) and a deeply creepy date that the ten-year-old little boy goes on with his goddamn teacher.

All in all, it's just not a book that has anything to offer modern children. There are hundreds if not thousands of other books that deal with the same themes of loss and grief, and I can all but guarantee those books won't be bogged down with the 1977-baggage that drags this story down.

Don't give your kids Bridge to Terabithia.

This was my favorite book as a girl. I read it over and over and over! A beautiful little story that introduces children to loss and, in a way, how to deal.

৩.৮/৫

'ব্রিজ টু টেরাবিথিয়া' খুবই সুন্দর একটা বই। জেসলি অ্যারন - অর্থাৎ যার ক্যারেক্টার থেকে উত্তম পুরুষে বইটা লেখা হয়েছে; ৯-১০ বছর বয়সী এক বালক। যার কিনা ইচ্ছা ছিল ক্লাসে সবচেয়ে দ্রুততম বালক হওয়ার। অথচ তাদেরই বাসার কাছাকাছি বাড়িতে এসে ওঠে দুঃসাহসিক এক মেয়ে- লেসলি। খুবই আশ্চর্যজনক ভাবে তাদের বন্ধুত্বও হয়ে যায়। কিন্তু জেসের জীবনের সবচেয়ে সেরা দিনটাই সবচেয়ে জঘন্য দিন হয়ে ওঠে।
আপনজন হারানোর দুঃখ, চাইল্ডিস কাজকর্মের ভেতরে থেকেও বড়দের মতো আচরণ, মিস এডমান্ডসকে পছন্দ করা, বিরক্তিকর রকমের বড়ো দুইটা বোন থাকা, নিজেদের রাজ্য তৈরী করে রাজা, রানী হয়ে যাওয়া- ইত্যাদি ইত্যাদি গল্পটাতে আলাদা একটা টেস্ট এনে দিয়েছে।
ক্যারেক্টারগুলোর ব্যাপারে বলতে গেলে- 'লেসলি' মেয়েটা ঠিক আমার পছন্দমত একটা মেয়েই হয়েছে। (আই মিন, আমার যেমন মেয়েদের পছন্দ, কিংবা আমি নিজে যে টাইপের হতে চাই; ঠিক তেমনটাই।) এরপর ভালো লেগেছে ভাইয়ের নেওটা পিচ্চি 'মেরি বেল'কে। আরও ভালো লাগা দের মধ্যে 'জেস' তো আছেই।
ক্যাথেরিন প্যাটারসনের লেখার ধরণ ইম্প্রেসিভ ছিল। নাহয়- ছয় বছর বয়েসী বাচ্চা মেয়েকে আগে ডান পা পরে বাম পা ফেলার কথা বললে তাতে, 'ডান পা কোনটা ভুলে গেছি' টাইপ উত্তরই যুতসই। কিন্তু ছোটদের যে ডান বাম চেনা শিখতে সময় লাগে সেটা উল্লেখ করে এখানে তিনি দক্ষতার পরিচয় দিয়েছেন বৈকি। অনুভুতি গুলোর মধ্যেও কোন ফাঁক ছিল না। ১০ বছর বয়সী একটা ছেলে যেমন কান্নার আগেই নিজেকে সামলে নিয়ে নিজেকে বড় ছেলের মতো মনে করতে থাকে, সে ব্যাপারটা ফুটিয়ে তুলতেও তিনি ভুল করেননি।
আর... সালমান ভাইয়ার অনুবাদ নিয়ে নতুন করে কিছু বলার নেই। টেরাবিথিয়া থেকে দড়ি বেয়ে ফেরত যাওয়ার সময়, মজার দেশ কবিতার পঙক্তি উঠে আসার ব্যাপারটা ভালো ছিল। উনি বর্তমান বেস্ট অনুবাদকদের একজন।

প্রচ্ছদটাও সুন্দর, ম্যাজিকাল টাইপের।

সর্বশেষে মেইন কথা হচ্ছে, If you can read it with a pure heart, you'll really gonna love it forever and ever.

ˏˋ꒰ re-read ꒱ ´ˎ˗
·₊˚⁀➷ 3.75 - ★★★★☆

❝You have to believe it and you hate it. I don't have to and I think it's beautiful.❞

✅ - love the characters & how short this was!