Bridge to Terebethia by Katherine Paterson
1978 Newbery Medal Winner
For the past year, I have been retaking a tour of classic children’s books. For the most part, these are books I remember from childhood, subsequently reading them to my own children as they were growing, and now, for the third reading, as I prepare for my future grandchildren. What has surprised me most, is just how much the prevailing culture has changed even since my children were small.
Bridge to Terebethia was one of my favorite books as an elementary school kid. As far as I recall, it was read to our 4th grade class by the teacher chapter by chapter out loud every day after recess. It was one of those books that had me enraptured from beginning to end, especially the end. I remember as a kid feeling older and more mature after the book was over. I was sad, of course, and remember doing my best not to let any of the other kids in the class see me cry, the ultimate sin in my day. However, it was not a baby book and clearly we were thought mature enough to receive it. So I endeavored to be so.
As I re-read the book now, it occurs to me that the teacher may have substituted or left out some of the words and phrases. At least, I don’t remember them much as far as the story went, but am very much struck by them now. (Did I do this with my own kids?! How much we forget over the years! I find it amazing that my memories of hearing the story the first time are so much stronger even than those I have of reading it to my own children, which are mostly just a blur. Then again, no one makes you get enough sleep when you are a parent—usually quite the opposite!)
To clarify: there are words in the book I wasn’t allowed to say as a kid, like calling people names (“stupid” or “dumb”) or making threats (“kill”), no matter how normal it was for kids to say such things amongst themselves. The irony is that kids say so much worse and not just with each other, but to their teachers as well. (Ask me how I know!) So, I’m guessing most people in today’s world would probably not even notice. To be fair, it’s not just the kids, but even on the news and in regular, every day conversation. Then again, the kids don’t learn behaviors in a vacuum, but I digress…
These words were not central to the story. They are much more like the dialect that creates the character, so perhaps I heard them and simply accepted them as from a character from a different background.
Far more important are the concepts in the book. There are adult level struggles put on a kid level and thought well within our elementary school level maturity to grasp. I wish I could go back and sincerely thank my 4th grade teacher. I think far too often we assume children cannot handle things, so we bubble wrap them, deny them the opportunity to process heavy concepts via a fictional character, and thus leave them fully incapable of handling these same things when they happen to them in life.
I found and still find the characters that Katherine Paterson created to be relatable, whether it be the boy who had self-doubt, the girl who was super creative, or the little sister who always felt left out. I found the characters to be believable and the story line one that, though fictional, was one I could very well imagine to be true, if not more true than true. The two main characters did not fit in and so made their own universe. As a child, I wished I could have such a friendship, even if for only the short duration! The funny part of reading this book so many decades later is that in some ways, the characters became closer friends to me than those who existed in “real” life and I enjoyed re-living their lives with them once again, even though I knew the ending before I started.
I re-read this book in a couple of hours and consider myself a slow reader. I do recommend this book for 4th & 5th graders (and up). The characters in the book are in the 5th grade and the boy is still 10 years in the spring of the school year. Of course, one may read the book at any age and sometimes it’s nice to curl up with a book, whether an old friend or new, and live a little through someone else’s eyes.
Some Takeaways:
1) Something which really struck me as refreshing after many years away from this book is that straight out of the gate, the book opens to a scene with an elementary aged boy who takes it upon himself to crawl out of bed, unprompted by an adult and with a goal he has set on his own: he strives to be the fastest runner in his grade through personal sacrifice, pushing his own limits with hard-work, grit, and perseverance.
Yes! As a former music teacher, I approve this message:
What goals do you have for yourself and what are you willing to sacrifice to accomplish your goals?
This is the kind of book I grew up with and a reflection of the culture I remember as a kid. Oh, the nostalgia for a world which seems only still to exist any more inside the pages of a book! I so miss the stories where kids are kids (not sassy miniature adults who both know better than the adults and are a victim of adult treatment), yet were expected and gave more respect than most adults give to one another today; kids clearly being kids, but striving towards something better. Coming from the perspective of one who spent three decades teaching music and who has dealt with far too much sass for far too little outcome, I can say definitively that delayed gratification for which one must sacrifice and strive with humility and grace as a concept has been dying an ever more vicious death, with its life support all but unplugged.
2) “He thought later how peculiar it was that here was probably the biggest thing in his life, and he had shrugged it off as nothing.”
Isn’t that the truth with so much in life?! It begs the question of what would have happened had Leslie not initially persevered to be his friend. What a magical world he would have missed out on by dismissing what could be!
3) “How could he explain it to her? “Leslie. If she was an animal predator, we’d be obliged to try to help her.” —Jesse
Yet,
“She looked at him as if she were going to argue, then seemed to change her mind. ‘It’s crazy, isn’t it?’ She shook her head. ‘You have to believe it, but you hate it. I don’t have to believe it, and I think it’s beautiful.’” —Leslie
In the first passage, Jesse has a newfound compassion for a girl who has been a tormentor. In the second passage, Leslie is referring to what she took away from attending the Easter church service with Jesse and his family. Leslie gives us a view of an outsider looking in on Christianity, but Jesse in his own way shows a reflection of his beliefs without seeming to know he is reflecting his beliefs. Leslie, no matter how much of a friend she may be to Jesse or appear to be in the classroom, is in total disbelief that one may show grace even and especially when the bully may very well “deserve” terrible treatment. It was by showing grace that Leslie earned half of a friend. Furthermore, Jesse would give a far greater grace to his teacher at the end of the story and at the height of his suffering, which for me was one of the best perspective shifts of the book, especially when hearing it as a kid.
In a day and age when I see how much Christianity is looked upon and often with downright hostility, I think the book really opens up the platform for in-depth discussions on grace, compassion, redemption, forgiveness, and loving your enemy. Jessie, no matter how gruff and unpolished he is, has at his heart an understanding of Christianity and I think this is what I miss most from the stories of my childhood: the understanding that there is both good and bad in people and most of us are doing our best, even if we do it poorly. The children still view each other as individuals and individuals come with flaws that make us who we are. We should act with grace and be open to redemption. That is where maturity thrives.
4) In thinking over the book in its entirety, I think of a quote by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Jesse mulls this over in his own words as he processes what has happened and takes us all along on his journey in the process. In my opinion, Katherine Paterson is brilliant in her ability to be able to articulate adult concepts into words and stories that, speaking for myself, made such a deep and profound impact upon me as a kid.
Springboards to Further Learning:
Running in a race
Canning vegetables
Singing and playing guitar (songs mentioned in the book)
Swinging on a rope
Watercolors and paintbrushes
Records and record players
String Quartets
Twinkies (Store bought or home-made)
Tree identification: crabapple, dogwood, pine
Washington D.C. monuments and museums
Vietnam War/Conflict
Books Referenced:
The Bible
Songs Referenced:
“Sing, Sing a Song” (originally written for Sesame Street in 1971, Sung by the Carpenters)
“Jingle Bells” (fun version with Bing Crosby & Frank Sinatra)
“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” (first recording)
Compare & Contrast:
A more modern, less mature, but nearly identical character coming-of-age and character shift book is A Boy In the Girl’s Bathroom by Louis Sachar. And before you ask, no, it has nothing to do with any of the more modern controversies. It is simply about a boy who is new to the school accidentally ending up in the girl’s bathroom. There are many laugh out loud moments and many spots which open dialogue on topics such as lying, avoidance, and choices in behavior.
On the one hand, I enjoy reading books in order to view the world from someone else’s eyes…especially those who are far different from what I would have simply by looking through my own eyes. On the other hand, I found some transitions and character shifts to be far too abrupt and magical and struggled more than once to suspend disbelief. I find Bridge to Terebethia to be a far more believable story with fewer leaps of faith, ironically and certainly no pun intended.
Katherine Paterson
Acceptance Speech 1978 Newbery Award for Bridge to Terebethia
Acceptance Speech Laura Ingalls Wilder Award