Bridge to Terabithia
1977 Newberry Award
Written by: Katherine Paterson
Published by HarperCollins, 1977
Realistic Fiction, 3-5
Summary: Jessie Aarons lives in rural Virginia with his father, mother, and four sisters. Every morning during the summer he milks Bessie the cow and run laps around the cow pasture. He wants to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade. However, on the first day of school, he is not the fastest in the fifth grade. A girl, Leslie Burke and also a new student, wins all the races against the boys. After this, Jessie tries to avoid Leslie at all costs, until he realizes that her family has moved into the house on the other side of the cow pasture. During music class one day at school, Jessie realized that there was no need for him to be avoiding Leslie. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Jessie takes up for her when students tease her for not having a television. Their friendship flourished from this point on. Together they created a world that is only for them in the land of Terabithia which is between their homes and across the creek. To cross the creek, they swing across on an “enchanted rope” hanging on a tree. This is the only way they can enter “the kingdom.” This was their secret world. When Christmas time came, Jessie was so excited about giving Leslie her Christmas present, a puppy. She named him P.T. and he became the prince of Terabithia. Each day, they would retreat to their kingdom, until the rains came. The creek was starting to get so high that they could not safely cross the creek. Leslie never seemed to be afraid, while Jessie was always a bit afraid. One day, Jessie goes on a trip to Washington with his teacher. When he comes home, his parents tell him that Leslie drowned in the creek. Jessie is filled with an array of emotions. He is shocked, scared, and angry at Leslie for leaving him. On the day that Leslie’s parents leave to return to their home in Pennsylvania, Jessie build a bridge to their land of Terabithia. When his little sister May-Belle comes to see what he is doing, Jessie puts flowers in her hair and leads her across the bridge saying, “All the Terebithians are standing on tiptoe to see you. There is a rumor going around that the beautiful girl arriving today might be the queen they’ve been waiting for.”
Response: Bridge to Terabithia evoked many different emotions in my heart. The friendship that Leslie and Jessie created was truly unique and beautiful. They taught each other the true meanings of friendship: accepting one another just as they are, the importance of being dependable, honesty, trust, and teamwork. Leslie led Jessie to view the world in a different way; “It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength.”
I also seemed to feel a bit of sympathy for Jessie, for he seemed to dread going home at times. He did not seem to have a close relationship with his family. He is even afraid for them to find out about his talent for art. Leslie accepts Jessie and his desire to paint and draw and leads him to realize the importance of being himself.
I did not like the way that God is depicted in this book, for I do not believe that the reverence that is due God is present here. God seems to be depicted as an powerful, wrathful God but not a loving, personal God. When Leslie goes to church with Jessie, she says that is beautiful that Jesus would die for the people that wanted to kill him when he did nothing wrong. She says that she does not believe it, but still thinks it is beautiful. May Belle tells Leslie that if she does not believe in the bible, “God’ll damn you to hell when you die.” Once again, this makes God seem to be an angry God when in fact, He is a loving and merciful God. This book does not seem to tell the whole story of the cross and I do not believe that this is fair.
The fact that Leslie died brings sorrow to the reader as they imagine the pain that Jessie is going through as the copes with losing his best friend.
Teaching Ideas: This book could be used to prompt discussion or used as writing prompts. Students can be asked to recall the magic worlds they have created growing up. How were they created? What was magic or special about his place? Who was there with you? Students can also be taught important truths about friendship through Jessie and Leslie such as acceptance, honesty, teamwork, and trust.
Through Jessie, students will also realize what it may be like to lose a best friend or someone very close to them. They will realize the sorrow that will be experienced but also that they must give to the world what this person gave to them.
1977 Newberry Award
Written by: Katherine Paterson
Published by HarperCollins, 1977
Realistic Fiction, 3-5
Summary: Jessie Aarons lives in rural Virginia with his father, mother, and four sisters. Every morning during the summer he milks Bessie the cow and run laps around the cow pasture. He wants to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade. However, on the first day of school, he is not the fastest in the fifth grade. A girl, Leslie Burke and also a new student, wins all the races against the boys. After this, Jessie tries to avoid Leslie at all costs, until he realizes that her family has moved into the house on the other side of the cow pasture. During music class one day at school, Jessie realized that there was no need for him to be avoiding Leslie. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Jessie takes up for her when students tease her for not having a television. Their friendship flourished from this point on. Together they created a world that is only for them in the land of Terabithia which is between their homes and across the creek. To cross the creek, they swing across on an “enchanted rope” hanging on a tree. This is the only way they can enter “the kingdom.” This was their secret world. When Christmas time came, Jessie was so excited about giving Leslie her Christmas present, a puppy. She named him P.T. and he became the prince of Terabithia. Each day, they would retreat to their kingdom, until the rains came. The creek was starting to get so high that they could not safely cross the creek. Leslie never seemed to be afraid, while Jessie was always a bit afraid. One day, Jessie goes on a trip to Washington with his teacher. When he comes home, his parents tell him that Leslie drowned in the creek. Jessie is filled with an array of emotions. He is shocked, scared, and angry at Leslie for leaving him. On the day that Leslie’s parents leave to return to their home in Pennsylvania, Jessie build a bridge to their land of Terabithia. When his little sister May-Belle comes to see what he is doing, Jessie puts flowers in her hair and leads her across the bridge saying, “All the Terebithians are standing on tiptoe to see you. There is a rumor going around that the beautiful girl arriving today might be the queen they’ve been waiting for.”
Response: Bridge to Terabithia evoked many different emotions in my heart. The friendship that Leslie and Jessie created was truly unique and beautiful. They taught each other the true meanings of friendship: accepting one another just as they are, the importance of being dependable, honesty, trust, and teamwork. Leslie led Jessie to view the world in a different way; “It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength.”
I also seemed to feel a bit of sympathy for Jessie, for he seemed to dread going home at times. He did not seem to have a close relationship with his family. He is even afraid for them to find out about his talent for art. Leslie accepts Jessie and his desire to paint and draw and leads him to realize the importance of being himself.
I did not like the way that God is depicted in this book, for I do not believe that the reverence that is due God is present here. God seems to be depicted as an powerful, wrathful God but not a loving, personal God. When Leslie goes to church with Jessie, she says that is beautiful that Jesus would die for the people that wanted to kill him when he did nothing wrong. She says that she does not believe it, but still thinks it is beautiful. May Belle tells Leslie that if she does not believe in the bible, “God’ll damn you to hell when you die.” Once again, this makes God seem to be an angry God when in fact, He is a loving and merciful God. This book does not seem to tell the whole story of the cross and I do not believe that this is fair.
The fact that Leslie died brings sorrow to the reader as they imagine the pain that Jessie is going through as the copes with losing his best friend.
Teaching Ideas: This book could be used to prompt discussion or used as writing prompts. Students can be asked to recall the magic worlds they have created growing up. How were they created? What was magic or special about his place? Who was there with you? Students can also be taught important truths about friendship through Jessie and Leslie such as acceptance, honesty, teamwork, and trust.
Through Jessie, students will also realize what it may be like to lose a best friend or someone very close to them. They will realize the sorrow that will be experienced but also that they must give to the world what this person gave to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment