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Dec 17, 2009

Elaine rated it:

When I read this in fourth grade, I loved it because it was enchanting, and reminded me very much of 'secret hideouts' I made with friends at the same age. When I read it again later in life, aloud to my younger brother and sister ages 10 and 12, I was choking back tears to keep reading aloud, and they were crying. If you've never read it (or, I suppose now, seen the movie) beware, this review is a spoiler! What I have learned from this book is that our assumptions about children and what is " More...

8 comments like (52 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2008

Jon rated it:

Bridge to Terabithia is a staple of many middle school literary curriculums; however, it is one of the most challenged books in school systems across the country. Opponents of this book preposterously assert that it has references to witchcraft and Satanism. I read this book in 5th grade and gathered no references to the use of magic at all. The book involves two children having imaginary adventures in the imaginary land of Terabithia. Such imaginary games are common for children. Yet some More...

6 comments like (18 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Res rated it:

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3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

thefourthvine rated it:

This is one of the books that taught me that Books Can Hurt. It was part of what I now consider to be my fourth grade teacher's reign of terror - she read Where the Red Fern Grows and Bridge to Terabithia out loud to us (and those are just the books I was in her class for), and I seriously think she did it for the days when, inevitably, the entire class would spend the afternoon weeping at our desks.

That said, though - and it needed to be said - this is a good book; it was so engagin More...

2 comments like (16 people liked it)

Sep 23, 2011

Leanne rated it:

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2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 02, 2008

Sara rated it:

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5 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2007

Aerin rated it:

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6 comments like (11 people liked it)

Apr 24, 2008

Katherine rated it:

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1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Sep 09, 2011

Astraea rated it:

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4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 23, 2008

Denise rated it:

Lines I loved:

Lark Creek was the backwash of fashion. It took them a long time to accept there what everyone could see by their TV’s was OK anywhere else.

It made Jess ache inside to watch his dad grab the little ones to his shoulder, or lean down and hug them. It seemed to him that he had been thought too big for that since the day he was born.

It was the beginning of a new season in his life, and he chose deliberately to make it so.

Gary Fulcher cou More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

Dec 31, 2008

Laurel rated it:

I enjoyed revisiting this childhood classic. I first read it at the recommendation of our local librarian when I was in 5th grade. I remember being a bit annoyed with her afterward because it made me cry. Hearing the story now 26 years later and knowing what to expect, I still got teary-eyed.

The audio version contains an interview with the author and her son, which I found quite interesting. Having first read the book at age 10, I didn't pay much attention to the dedication page. A More...

6 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 01, 2008

Brandy rated it:

The movie got so much hype that I decided that I would read the book to my kids before letting them see the movie. I hate how so many movies are comming out about classic books. I personally feel it is discouraging kids to read. I understand that lots of movies are based on books, but it seems that a new trend is to make movies based on really popular books. Anyway, I wanted my kids to hear the book before seeing the movie. I actually wasn't impressed with this book at all. It moved pretty More...

8 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 28, 2008

A Pondering Heart rated it:

I loved this book... it was very sad but something I could relate to, whether personally or from others' experiences. Jess was a really neat kid. All he needed was his father to love and recognize him, his mother to see he wasn't a little boy anymore, and his sisters to treat him like a person. This book also showed the sad truth of the public school system.

The reason Leslie meant so much to him was not because she was a girl or because he liked her in any certain way. It was becaus More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 31, 2008

Rob rated it:

I just re-read the book before watching the movie. I'm sure I read it as a kid, but I'm reviewing this as an adult.

This book is sad. It's like My Girl. The characters are innocent and fun, and the world they create with their minds is playful. However, tragedies of this kind are not my thing. It seems that the point of the book is the tragedy, to have a boy's friend die. I'd rather spend my time reading something a little more up-beat.

I've said this before, I don't at a More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2009

Joanie rated it:

The reason this did not get five stars from me was the teacher stereotypes once again. The two teachers were straight out of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: the old, sour, never smiles, hates her students teacher and the young, inspired, fine arts teacher that all the other teachers hate. Puleeze.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Feb 11, 2011

Kirk rated it:

There are only two books that have made me cry. Granted, I was in sixth grade when I read this for the first time. But like most books I review on Goodreads, I sat down to read this again before posting my review. My sentiments about Bridge to Terabithia haven't changed much.

I don't remember a lot from my pre-teen years. Little fragments crop up from time to time when I see an old commercial on Youtube or I play an 8-bit classic on my Wii. This book I remember. And as I re-read it I More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Elizabeth rated it:

Oh I loved this book too! Its so sweet, and sad and wonderful. I cried.

My teacher read it outloud in my 5th grade class and when the character died, I turned to the little boy next to me (I think his name was PJ Gaskill--I can't believe I remember this), and said, "That's not true is it?" and he looked at me with tears in his eyes and nodded. It was probably one of the first mature interactions I ever had with an "icky" boy.

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

May 05, 2010

Sirpa rated it:

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0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 08, 2008

Needleroozer rated it:

I saw the movie before I read the book, so I knew that the ending would be SAD! I won't give it all away, but I wouldn't give this book to a kid younger than 13 or 14. And there is some heavy foreshadowing, so you can probably figure out what's going to happen before it takes place, even if you haven't seen the movie.

But I'm warning you...this book is SAD!

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2011

Thom rated it:

Bridge to Terabithia -

I'm a grown man and I cried the duration of the last fifty pages. I gave this book five stars, here's why:

It is absolutely incredible that a writer can invent a character, and bring him to life so convincingly that we find some of our deepest emotions aroused when we read black words on a white page. I was amazed at how deeply I felt towards some the characters in this book...fictional characters!

Character development is absolutely masterful i More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2010

Amanda (Cirque Du Freak Freak) rated it:

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2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 30, 2008

Richard rated it:

A novel for teenagers, won the Newbery medal 1977. A book about friendships in the 4th and 5th grades in a rural school somewhere in Virginia. A boy and girls become best friends despite harassment by other class members. They find a special place close to their houses called Terabithia. Fantasy, friendship, and tenderness. Delightful book that adults would enjoy. I liked the following quotation towards the end of the book: “It was Leslie who had taken him from the cow pasture into Tera More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 14, 2009

Polly rated it:

Bridge to Terabithia is a touching story that reveals family, advanture and friendship. Jesse Arons lives in a family with four sisters so it was like the more takes over the less. He uses stuff his sisters pass down and even wear old shoes his sisters don’t want. He lived in a consider poor family. He has amazing artistic skill but a quiet and shy personality. When a neighbor of his moved in, he met Leslie the new girl which also in his school beats all the boys in running. They become be More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 15, 2008

Yoke rated it:

The unlikely friendship between Jess and Leslie begins at school after they compete against each other in a school race. They are drawn together as friends because they both feel "different," and they come to respect and support each other's unique talents. Together they create an imaginary kingdom in the woods, called Terabithia. In Terabithia, where Jess is King and Leslie is Queen, they feel strong and free. They talk, share ideas, and have a lot of fun. For the first time, Jess dar More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2008

Waffle...♥ rated it:

Okay like... at the beginning, I thought it was an okay book... but when I came to the part when Leslie died, it made me cry :<. I accually never thought there was going to be a problem within the book and thought that it was just a kind of book that was a life lesson one, kinda boring but meaningful.. so it strucked me by surprise that she died! The way how the author described the book.. it was like I was Jess, losing the one thing that held him together... it hurts.. call me wierd, I don't More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 27, 2008

Brad rated it:

This 1978 Newberry Award winner tells the story of lonely fifth-grader Jesse Aarons who befriends a new girl Leslie Burke. Together they create a magical kingdom (Terabithia) of the woods near their home accessible only by rope swing. When Jesse is on a trip to the city with his beloved music teacher, Leslie visits Terabithia alone and dies after the rope swing breaks.

This is a beautifully written story that very thoughtfully deals with the subject of death and grieving. I also felt More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 25, 2009

Lisa C rated it:

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 29, 2007

Silvercharmer rated it:

This, along with Where the Red Fern Grows, probably impacted me the most growing up. The really good books, regardless of genre or audience, make such an imprint on you that you can recall certain lines or moments with perfect clarity. This books so perfectly renders its characters, settings, and imagination of these two characters that it simply takes your breath away. As I recall, her prose is not flowery and ornate, but as plain and simple as Jess, and as life-changing as Leslie. It's the cla More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Apr 26, 2010

Hayes rated it:

2.5 stars

Severely dated... and has not held up well.

I loved some of what the author was trying to do: kids who are different should be accepted; boys and girls can be friends with each other; kids who come from underpriviledged families can be acievers; family violence is a reality.

But I did not like the context or the stereotypes: the rich "hippie" family that moves to the country to get away from society; the "locals" who all talk " More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

This was my favorite book as a girl. I read it over and over and over! A beautiful little story that introduces children to loss and, in a way, how to deal.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

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