Jess is a young eleven year old boy who lives in a
town called Lark Creek. He had a hard
family life. He feels like he does not
belong in his family. Jess likes to run
and draw, but knows that his dad would not take well to that. It was the beginning of 5th grade, and
he was very excited to go back to school and be the fastest runner there. All of sudden, a girl named Leslie outruns
him and the other boys. Jess and Leslie
became very good friends. They go to the
woods and make a fantasyland called Terabithia.
There they both forget their troubles and Leslie introduces Jess to the
world of imagination and creativity, which helps him with this artistic
side. Jess tells Leslie about all his insecurities and
somehow being in Terabithia strengthens them.
Leslie likes to tell him stories as well. During Easter time, it had been raining a
lot, so Jess did not think it was safe to go to Terabithia. He got invited to the museum by one of his
teachers. After having one of the best
days of his life, he comes home and they tell him that Leslie had drowned in the
creek when she was swinging across it. Jess
was very devastated and did not know how he will go on without her. He eventually realizes what he had learned
from Leslie and continues to go back to Terabithia. There he builds a bridge and makes his little
sister Mary Bell the new queen. He knows
that a part of Leslie will always live on there. This is a contemporary realism book. This book has a lot of symbolism in it. It deals with family, friendships, life,
death, and even a fantasy world. The story is well organized and structured to
flow and make the reader want to keep reading.
There is so many ways a teacher can incorporate this book, especially while
teaching story elements. You can have students compare and contrast the settings
of Lars Creek and Terabithia, discuss
the plot of the story, or discuss the characters and their traits. There are endless possibilities with this
story.
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