Bridge To Terabithia - Paterson
I first read this book while I was in college, trying to research great books to read in the classrooms I was doing clinical hours in. I didn't actually read it to any students until my student teaching days, when I chose to use it as the daily read-aloud book to my sixth graders. The students could choose to read their own book silently or listen along. I was amazed at how many of the kids still enjoyed being read to and listened to my reading.
I will never forget the look of my favorite student's face (I had nicknamed him "Art" for reasons I'm cloudy about today) when I got to the sad part of the book. He cried. Huge tears silently rolling down his face as he sat in the front row hanging on every word that I read. I wanted to cry, too. But I was the teacher.
Bridge to Terabithia is a wonderful story about children. About childhood. About being afraid and about being loved. About friendship and about family. It's a story that reminds us that making the choice to welcome in a new friend can often be the most defining moment of our life.
If you plan to see the movie, I encourage you to read the book first. There is nothing in the world like being lost in the pages of a great book. This one won't take you long, but keep the tissues nearby. If you plan to let your children read it, I recommend reading it to them, no matter what age they may be. Paterson chose to use a few words I wouldn't necessarily include myself, so I prefer to read the book aloud and skip over those unnecessary words. I also like gauging my son's reactions to various things in the book - he's a ten year old fifth grader, just like the main character, Jess.
I handed our copy of the book to my neighbor this morning when she dropped off her daughter. I gave her the same recommendations I just mentioned above. She stared at me as though I were asking her to give her daughters poison and said, "My friend read this book and said she cried and cried." I do not think shielding our children from saddness or sorrow helps them to grow as human beings. Jess learned to face his own fears in the book, as should our own children. Saddness and sorrow are parts of life.
If you know what happens in the book, please don't reveal it in the comments. While I didn't want LM to suffer unnecessarily, he was disappointed last night that his friends had already told him the ending. It's worth the experience.
I will never forget the look of my favorite student's face (I had nicknamed him "Art" for reasons I'm cloudy about today) when I got to the sad part of the book. He cried. Huge tears silently rolling down his face as he sat in the front row hanging on every word that I read. I wanted to cry, too. But I was the teacher.
Bridge to Terabithia is a wonderful story about children. About childhood. About being afraid and about being loved. About friendship and about family. It's a story that reminds us that making the choice to welcome in a new friend can often be the most defining moment of our life.
If you plan to see the movie, I encourage you to read the book first. There is nothing in the world like being lost in the pages of a great book. This one won't take you long, but keep the tissues nearby. If you plan to let your children read it, I recommend reading it to them, no matter what age they may be. Paterson chose to use a few words I wouldn't necessarily include myself, so I prefer to read the book aloud and skip over those unnecessary words. I also like gauging my son's reactions to various things in the book - he's a ten year old fifth grader, just like the main character, Jess.
I handed our copy of the book to my neighbor this morning when she dropped off her daughter. I gave her the same recommendations I just mentioned above. She stared at me as though I were asking her to give her daughters poison and said, "My friend read this book and said she cried and cried." I do not think shielding our children from saddness or sorrow helps them to grow as human beings. Jess learned to face his own fears in the book, as should our own children. Saddness and sorrow are parts of life.
If you know what happens in the book, please don't reveal it in the comments. While I didn't want LM to suffer unnecessarily, he was disappointed last night that his friends had already told him the ending. It's worth the experience.
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