# Bridge To Terabithia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2002, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305 "2002-10-08T02:51:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/1 "2002-10-08T02:51:44Z")
I was looking for a different book when I came across BtT up in the attic on saturday, and read it yesterday for the first time in oh, 17 years. (I’m 33.) I was crying at the end. Books don’t do that to me. Ever. This one does. I cried Sunday and I know I cried 17 years ago, as well as nearly every other time I’ve read it. Truly a classic. But…has there every been a TV movie/Afterschool special adaptation of this? It seems to me that it would be a can’t miss proposition. Thoughts? Catcalls? Anyone care to call me a sissy for being 33 and crying over a _young adult_ book? ---
**Author:** ![Entwife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@Entwife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Entwife)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/2 "2002-10-08T03:57:16Z")
Well, I’m only 31 and tried to read this to my son. Couldn’t see through the tears. And you’re still a sissy. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/3 "2002-10-08T03:59:12Z")
BtT was the first book that ever made me cry back in fourth grade I guess, I mean really cry and be upset. I’ll admit it. I don’t think I would cry if I read it today though. I don’t seem to be able to cry much anymore. But then again, I’m not a sissy. {D&R} ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/4 "2002-10-08T04:06:17Z")
I believe they are in the process of making a movie for it. Check out [here](http://http://us.imdb.com/Title?0088853) for a 1985 version. I can’t seem to find anything about the new one. But IIRC Alyson Hannigan (Buffy’s sidekick) is cast as Leslie. But isn’t she a little old for the part? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/5 "2002-10-08T06:52:47Z")
I’m sure I heard they’re doing a new adaptation for it, but there’s no entry at imdb…but they yanked the entry for **batman:year one** recently, so I don’t know what that means in terms of their being one in talks or not. They might just be only posting for movies in production now or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/6 "2002-10-08T15:06:14Z")
I reread BtT last week, I cried too. I have an excuse though, I’m a girl. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/7 "2002-10-08T15:13:43Z")
Katherine Paterson has a knack for creating characters you care for and putting them into believable situations. Among modern children’s book authors, only Jerry Spinelli and Laurence Yep come close. Bridge to Terabithia is one of her best, though I think _The Great Gilly Hopkins_ and _Jacob Have I Loved_ are better. _Lyddie_ is almost in the same league, and has her most compelling character at its center. _Park’s Quest_, _Come Sing Jimmy Joe_, and _Flip Flop Girl_ are all also good, if a step down. Her translations of Japanese stories are worth the read, but are, like those listed above, a little more distant emotionally than the first few listed. One thing that I find interesting about _Bridge to Terabithia_ is that Paterson, a devout Christian missionary, made the atheist in her book the most intelligent, articulate character. ---
**Author:** ![PRNYouth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PRNYouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PRNYouth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/8 "2002-10-08T16:28:33Z")
I’m a twenty-nine year old male, and I can’t read this book without sobbing by the end. The scene between Jesse and his father at the creekbank gets me every time. I own two copies – one I loan out, the other I keep, because I can never tell when I’ll want to read it again. For me, this book is a reminder of the difference one person can make in the life of another. Jesse’s life was made immensely more positive because of the influence of Leslie. That’s a message I never get tired of hearing. (That’s also why _Titanic_ – though reviled by some – was a moving moviegoing experience. Not nearly as memorable as reading BtT, but memorable just the same.) I’ve read several of the Katherine Paterson books mentioned. Another one I truly enjoyed was _The Master Puppeteer_. Not as moving as BtT, but masterful storytelling, nonetheless. The only other book that does this to me is “A Summer To Die” Lois Lowry. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/9 "2002-10-08T16:56:49Z")
I vaguely recollect seeing a movie of this, though nothing moves me as much as the book. I recommended it to a coworker who hadn’t read it and she confessed that she finished reading it, sobbing, on the Metro. Oh, and I second the recommendation of “A Summer to Die”. Best story ever of sibling love & rivalry. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/10 "2002-10-08T17:37:26Z")
Oh, I haven’t read Bridge to Terabithia in years. I’m gonna have to go dig up my copy now. 🙂 Nope, you are definitely not a sissy–I’m 29 and the last time I read it ( a few years ago) I recall crying by the end too and I’ve read it quite a few times. Tuck Everlasting gets to me too. I am reading it with my daughter right now and I’m interested in seeing how the new movie version stands up to the book. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/11 "2002-10-08T18:35:12Z")
I re-read _Bridge to Terabithia_ last weekend as well. I was holed up in bed getting over a cold, and my wife had a copy lying around (she teaches the book regularly in her class). I was all misty by the end… but I know I’m a sissy, so no biggie. I also read _Tuck Everlasting_ later the same day, another book my wife uses in class often. It was the first time I had read it. What a wonderful pair of books. I love them both. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/12 "2002-10-08T18:42:12Z")
I know there is a musical version (not on the screen, but on the stage) which I have not seen. ---
**Author:** ![mattymillhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mattymillhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattymillhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/13 "2002-10-08T20:38:10Z")
i read this book when i was in the 2nd grade and cried myself to sleep. my brother, who read it before me, cried himself to sleep for 3 nights in a row after finishing the book. so of course, we thought it was a good book. but when i was in college, i came across a list of the ten most banned books, and BtT was on the list. see [http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/People/spok/most-banned.html](http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/People/spok/most-banned.html) (listing BtT as #6) and [http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top100bannedbooks.html](http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top100bannedbooks.html) (listing BtT as #9) now, i realize these are hardly scientific polls, and that the reasons for banning any book are typically rather . . . uh, cryptic. but for the life of me, i couldn’t think of anything objectionable in this book other than the fact that it causes the room to get extremely dusty near the end. admittedly, i haven’t read the book in something like 20 years, so my memory is a bit hazy. Number 6 has mentioned that it included an atheistic character, which may provide the basis for objection. anybody else know why this book is so frequently an object of scorn? ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/14 "2002-10-08T21:19:24Z")
mattymillhouse, A few possibilities for why NtT is banned so much: 1. The whole “female empowerment” thing with Leslie being faster then all the boys. 2. Leslie’s parents being quasi-hippies. 3. The whole “make-believe” thing about Terabithia. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts some nutjub fundie connected it with D&D and we all know how D& D is Satan’s tool for luring young people into his service.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: PRNYouth, Yeah, the scene with Jessie and his father at the creek is…I don’t know, on the one hand it’s so awful, but it feels TRUE, and beautiful. If that makes any sense. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/15 "2002-10-08T23:58:44Z")
Paterson wrote an extremely good book about writing for children, called either _The Spying Heart_ or \_ My Spying heart\_. Extremely interesting stuff in there about censorship and writing for children and young adults. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/16 "2002-10-09T00:56:50Z")
A wonderful book. I have taught it to 5th and 6th grade students and they love it–the boys as well as the girls. A group of students came to me once and wanted me to punish, or at least chastise, a girl on the bus because she TOLD THE ENDING to another girl who had just begun reading the book. It pleased me that they valued the story so much they wanted others to experience it and its emotional punch as intended. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/17 "2002-10-09T06:31:21Z")
SPOILERS The main objections to the story come primarily from fundamentalist Christians, and they have to do with Leslie being an atheist who engages in “pagan rituals” with Jesse in the woods, and which Jesse is ready to indoctrinate his youngest sister into at the end. > [@](#): > > Oh, and I second the recommendation of “A Summer to Die”. Best story ever of sibling love & rivalry. Another recommendation for this fine book. I would say, however, that Paterson’s _Jacob Have I Loved_ is the best children’s book dealing with sibling love and rivalry. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/18 "2002-10-09T06:41:55Z")
SPOILERS The main objections to the story come primarily from fundamentalist Christians, and they have to do with Leslie being an atheist who engages in “pagan rituals” with Jesse in the woods, and which Jesse is ready to indoctrinate his youngest sister into at the end. > [@](#): > > Oh, and I second the recommendation of “A Summer to Die”. Best story ever of sibling love & rivalry. Another recommendation for this fine book. I would say, however, that Paterson’s _Jacob Have I Loved_ is the best children’s book dealing with sibling love and rivalry. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/19 "2002-10-09T17:01:19Z")
Re the banning of BtT, the American Library Association lists it at number 9 on the top 100 banned/challenged books 1990-2000: [http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top100bannedbooks.html](http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top100bannedbooks.html) ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305/20 "2002-10-09T21:40:26Z")
There was a movie made for _Wonderworks_ on PBS. I remember watching it as a child, maybe fifteen years ago. A lot of those old Wonderworks movies are available on video, but I don’t know about this one. I loved that show. Watched it every week. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridge-to-terabithia/131305.md?page=2)