Bridge to Terabithia

by Katherine Paterson

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.

“I just can’t get the poetry of the trees,” he said. She nodded. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You will someday.”

Leslie was more than his friend. She was his other, more exciting self—his way to Terabithia and all the worlds beyond.

Sometimes it seemed to him that his life was delicate as a dandelion. One little puff from any direction, and it was blown to bits.