In addition to appearing on the list regularly, Katherine Paterson’s BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA was a Top 10 Banned Book in 2003. It is also ranked in the Top 10 Banned Books of the decade, 1990-2010. It has been challenged and banned for using the lord’s name in vain, secular humanism, occultism, offensive language, and death as a major theme.
So let’s booktalk it! We asked Jen Bigheart – blogger at I Read Banned Books, librarian, and founding member of Literary Lonestars – to contribute a booktalk for BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA; feel free to use it in your own classrooms and libraries to support the Freedom to Read year-round:
Living in a small, rural town in the late 1970s with his parents and four sisters is far from exciting for fifth-grader Jess Aarons. When tomboy Leslie Burke moves into the house down the hill, the two strike up an unlikely friendship that doesn’t go unnoticed by Jess’ family and classmates. The two sneak deep into the woods as King and Queen of Terabithia, conquering hostile savages and getting lost in their imaginative play. When an unexpected tragedy strikes, Jess realizes that Leslie was more than just a friend and play partner. She was his ticket to freedom from his mundane home life and gave him a gift beyond measure: courage.
Thanks so much, Jen!
For further assistance in teaching BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, download the discussion guide. Scholastic also has put together Literature Circle questions.
