Bridge to Terabithia
By: Sophia Locker
All About Jess
Jess Aarons, an ten year old boy living on
a country farm with his parents and four
sisters, has had one dream all summer long.
When school starts, he wants to be the fastest
runner in the third, fourth, and fifth grades.
Each day at recess, races are organized
among those three grades, and now that Jess
is in fifth grade and the oldest, he is confident
that he can outrun them all.
All About Leslie
Leslie is a 10 year old girl that just moved
in. Leslie has a mother and a father but no
siblings. Her parents are both authors.
Every other girl wears dresses and skirts, but
not Leslie. She wears knee high pants.
Leslie has a very wild imagination and is a
very kind friend. Leslie is also a very smart
girl. All of the teachers love her.
How Jess and Leslie Met
At first Jess didn’t like Leslie. Leslie moved
into Jess’s neighbor’s house, that he calls the old
Perkin’s place. When Jess was on his way to
milk Miss Bessie, the Aaron’s cow, he saw
Leslie for the first time sitting on the fence. Jess
was very surprised on Leslie’s outfit choice
because most girls wear dresses and skirts, but
she wears knee high pants. Leslie was curious
about Jess and she wanted to be friends with
him.
Terabithia
Terabithia is Jess and Leslie’s imaginary
land. Terabithia has creatures living in it
called Terabithians. The only way to enter
Terabithia is to swing on the rope in the
woods behind Jess and Leslie’s houses. The
rope hangs over a creek, and Jess can’t swim,
so it scares him a little bit. Jess is the king,
and Leslie is the queen of Terabithia.
Nobody but Jess and Leslie knows about
Terabithia.
School
Jess and Leslie’s school is named Lark
Creek. Lark Creek doesn’t have many
resources. They don’t have many books,
classrooms, toys, desks, tables, and many
other things. Everyday at recess all the girls,
except Janice Avery (the school bully) and
her “gang”, play hopscotch and jump rope
or talk. The boys play “King of the Hill” or
have races. Janice Avery and her “gang”
stand outside the bathroom and charge girls
their lunch money to go in.
How Leslie Died
It was a special day for Jess but not for
Leslie. Jess had gone to an art museum with
his music teacher, Miss Edmunds. He was
having a blast! Meanwhile Leslie was on her
way to Terabithia. It was a rainy day so the
creek was high and had a strong current.
Leslie was swinging on the rope when it
snapped! She fell into the water and drowned.
They found her later that day up stream dead.
Everybody was devastated (especially Jess).
Jess blamed himself for her death because he
thinks he should’ve invited her to come along
with him to the art museum.
Summary of the Story
Jess and Leslie are best friends. They can
trust each other with anything. They have
created an imaginary land called Terabithia (in
the woods behind their houses). Jess and Leslie
try to go there everyday. They play with each
other during school, too, even though they get
made fun of a lot. Leslie and Jess will always be
together no matter what gets in their way. When
Leslie died May Belle (Jess’s sister) became the
queen of Terabithia.