I never read the book for pleasure, nor was I ever assigned the book to read as an assignment. That is, until my Literature for Elementary Students class this semester.
When I saw Bridge to Terabithia on the list, I was excited. I remember seeing Bridge to Terabithia on one of my teachers’ selves when I was growing up and wanting to read the book. I never read it because there was so much being said about it being a “bad” book. There was talk about it being banned in our district. I was an avid reader and read whatever I could. But I was also a “teacher’s pet” and never wanted to do, or even read, anything considered “bad.” So, I did not read it that year, and it was forgotten. When I came across it years later in high school, I did not have the time to read a “child’s book” and again put off reading the Newbery Award Winning book.
The book starts off as a story of a unique friendship between a young boy and a young girl. I found myself identifying with these characters and caring about them. I felt sorry for Jess when his mother treated him harshly and never let him relax. She would let his sisters watch television for hours and would then complain that only his oldest sister cared about her. I sympathized with Leslie being the new kid at school. I was changed schools four times in elementary school and once in high school. I know what it feels like to be “new” and not fit in. Kids can be cruel to each other and Paterson did a wonderful job of portraying their cruelty and harshness.
Even with all the talk of Bridge to Terabithia being “bad” when I was young, I never knew why parents and teachers considered it to be “bad.” That is why I was so shocked by the tragedy at the end of the novel. I could not have predicted Leslie’s death no matter how much time I spent analyzing the novel. The suddenness of Leslie’s death hit me hard. I could not believe it. I wanted to yell, “No! You can’t take her away from him!” I was riding in the truck with my husband on the way home from the mountains and I must have audibly gasped or flinched when I read that section because he looked over at me and asked me what was wrong. I just stared at him and slowly shook my head. How could I tell him how unfair life was to this boy? How could I express the anger and sadness I felt welling up inside of me? After all, it was just a book. Right? Wrong. It’s not just a book. It’s a portrait of pain. It was written for each person that has ever loved and lost. I felt as if it had been written for me.
After reading the book, I watched and read transcripts of several interviews with Katherine Patterson. Paterson wrote the book in response to the tragedy her son faced when he was only eight years old. He had a young friend who suddenly and tragically died from a bolt of lightening. They had only been friends a short time, as Jess and Leslie had. Contrary to what most people would think, she did not write the book for her son’s emotional healing process; she wrote it to help her make sense of the tragedy and to help her heal. Writing is a powerful tool for those who have lived through life’s tough lessons. And how grateful we should be when they share their experiences with us and let us learn and grow from them.
When I saw Bridge to Terabithia on the list, I was excited. I remember seeing Bridge to Terabithia on one of my teachers’ selves when I was growing up and wanting to read the book. I never read it because there was so much being said about it being a “bad” book. There was talk about it being banned in our district. I was an avid reader and read whatever I could. But I was also a “teacher’s pet” and never wanted to do, or even read, anything considered “bad.” So, I did not read it that year, and it was forgotten. When I came across it years later in high school, I did not have the time to read a “child’s book” and again put off reading the Newbery Award Winning book.
The book starts off as a story of a unique friendship between a young boy and a young girl. I found myself identifying with these characters and caring about them. I felt sorry for Jess when his mother treated him harshly and never let him relax. She would let his sisters watch television for hours and would then complain that only his oldest sister cared about her. I sympathized with Leslie being the new kid at school. I was changed schools four times in elementary school and once in high school. I know what it feels like to be “new” and not fit in. Kids can be cruel to each other and Paterson did a wonderful job of portraying their cruelty and harshness.
Even with all the talk of Bridge to Terabithia being “bad” when I was young, I never knew why parents and teachers considered it to be “bad.” That is why I was so shocked by the tragedy at the end of the novel. I could not have predicted Leslie’s death no matter how much time I spent analyzing the novel. The suddenness of Leslie’s death hit me hard. I could not believe it. I wanted to yell, “No! You can’t take her away from him!” I was riding in the truck with my husband on the way home from the mountains and I must have audibly gasped or flinched when I read that section because he looked over at me and asked me what was wrong. I just stared at him and slowly shook my head. How could I tell him how unfair life was to this boy? How could I express the anger and sadness I felt welling up inside of me? After all, it was just a book. Right? Wrong. It’s not just a book. It’s a portrait of pain. It was written for each person that has ever loved and lost. I felt as if it had been written for me.
After reading the book, I watched and read transcripts of several interviews with Katherine Patterson. Paterson wrote the book in response to the tragedy her son faced when he was only eight years old. He had a young friend who suddenly and tragically died from a bolt of lightening. They had only been friends a short time, as Jess and Leslie had. Contrary to what most people would think, she did not write the book for her son’s emotional healing process; she wrote it to help her make sense of the tragedy and to help her heal. Writing is a powerful tool for those who have lived through life’s tough lessons. And how grateful we should be when they share their experiences with us and let us learn and grow from them.
2 comments:
Like you, I had not read the book (at least not all the way through) when I was younger. I had started the book, but I had found it boring. I knew it was a highly acclaimed book, but I never had the desire to pick it back up. Actually the book did not really "grab" me until Jess and Leslie had had several adventures that seemed to show them bonded in real friendship. I had a hunch that Leslie would be the one to die, but when I read that part in the book I was still horrified. I could just feel Jess's pain riddled with guilt at having left town when the tragedy had occurred. I now feel much differently. I celebrate the opportunity to experience victory over the death of a loved one. What a testimony for kids also dealing with such grief and loss when it happens to them! I'm grateful to Katherine Paterson for creating this work and for her sharing how she was able to process grief in a productive and helpful way. I still can't say that the book is among my favorites, but the message and artful crafting of plot an theme is masterful.
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