Review: Paterson, K. (2017). Bridge to Terabithia. (40th anniversary)

Paterson, K. (2017). Bridge to Terabithia. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Originally published 1977

A Newbery Award winner that became an instant contemporary classic in the late 1970’s, Bridge to Terabithia has often been on the most challenged list.  The main reason, outside of some complaints regarding language and secularism, seems to be that some simply felt the central crisis was too intense for children.  However, the two main characters are themselves fifth graders, and the story was loosely based on real events that happened to the author’s young son and a close friend.  The novel has maintained favorite status among many younger readers for decades.

Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke are both outcasts of sorts in their small Virginia town, although for very different reasons.  She moves to the area, a rare newcomer, with her parents, both writers, who seek a rural lifestyle not because they are in poverty like many of the other residents, but because of aspirations about country living and their then-modern social ideals.  Leslie is thus different because of the way she lives and the relationship, though close, that she has with her parents. Jess, on the other hand, the only boy in his family, is quiet and interested in not sports but art. Together they find friendship and create an imaginary land called Terabithia where they can escape daily pressures, ruling as king and queen among inhabitants of the mystic kingdom in the woods they can only access using a rope swing over a creek.

Jess has a strained relationship with his father, who does not understand his son’s interests and even makes a horrible implication about Jess’ identity and self worth, stopping short of using a slur but letting it hang in the air between them.  Thus Jess misses “old Dad,” and values the interaction and warmth he receives from Leslie and her family. He also, however, somewhat idolizes his hip and modern music teacher, Miss Edmonds, and is thrilled when she not only takes an interest in him, but invites him on what is his first visit to a museum.  This is when tragedy ensues, and characters are left dealing with the fall out in their own ways.

In the story, true friendship trumps societal class and expectations, and proves that our families may not always be formed through genetic relationships, but those we make for ourselves.  Another idea throughout is that gender stereotypes are arbitrary and constricting to personal development. Probably one of children’s favorite themes, and the one most capitalized on by Disney in its full-length feature film, is that there are no bounds to our imaginations, and the cultivation of creativity is essential to our world.  Lastly, the story does remind us of the inevitability and untimeliness of death, which all people must learn to grieve and grow from in our own ways. Although this is what some felt was too dark for young readers, the irony is that the theme of death in the story reminds us that children may well be affected by death, and that it is completely outside of adult control.

Disney’s 2007 film takes a different tack from the book, using special effects to visually illustrate for the viewer the imaginary features the characters envision; watch the trailer here.