Bridge to Terabithia
A John Newberry Medal Award Winning Novel
Patterson, Katherine. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
This picture was obtained from: http http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2010/03/25/top-100-childrens-novels-13/
“This was the day he was going to be champion- the best runner of the fourth and fifth grades, and he hadn’t even won his heat.”
-page 27 of The Bridge to Terabithia
A Little about the Book:
Jess Aarons is a hard worker, he works hard around the farm, and he works hard at training to be the best runner in his class. Than Leslie Burke moves into the house beside him. Leslie turns out to be a faster runner than Jess, but that does not stop a friendship from growing. Jess and Leslie become best friends. They even build their own kingdom, Terabithia, in the forest across a creek. The two are inseparable until one day when Jess goes to Washington with his teacher to a museum and art gallery. Jess regrets not bringing Leslie along with them, but when he arrives home, his regret is even worse. Jess’s life changes and so does Terabithia’s rulers.
The Illustrations:
Bridge to Terabithia does not contain very many illustrations. The ones, which are present, are black and white and depict what is occurring at the time. The illustrations themselves are very insignificant to the book.
Themes:
· friendship
· life
· being a good citizen
· Being an individual, and not conforming
Age Level:
Bridge to Terabithia is appropriate for children ages nine and up. The story does contain vocabulary children may need some help understanding. Although the story line itself is very is to follow. Teachers could use this book in Grade four with their students.
Personal Response:
Bridge to Terabithia is a very emotional book. I am not one to cry very often when reading, but this book had me crying. Paterson does an impeccable job at creating such a strong friendship that when it’s broken apart it is heart breaking!
My favourite part of Bridge to Terabithia is the end when Jess proclaims May Belle the new Queen of Terabithia.
I cannot say enough about Bridge to Terabithia. It is a book everyone should read, and possibly reread.
Teacher Ideas:
This website is a novel study guide, which teachers can use for Bridge to Terabithia. There are questions for each chapter, vocabulary words, and an enrichment activity to do.
This website provides 6 lesson plans teachers can with Bridge to Terabithia. The lessons start with students making predictions based on the cover page of the book, and then proceed through start to finish of the reading the book. The lessons focus on the theme friendship. These lesson plans do a great job of getting students to think critically before, after and while they read Bridge to Terabithia.
Art
Have students create a shoebox diorama of Terabithia. Let students be creative and use whatever materials they wish. You can ask students the following questions to help them think of how they want their diorama to look:
1) What items did Jess and Leslie use to make Terabithia?
2) What did some of the pictures in the book of Terabithia look like?
3) How do you picture Terabithia in your head?
4) Where was Terabithia located?
The following website gives some information about making dioramas:
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