I wrote my review immediately after closing the book, while I was still in tears. After a day, I realized there were other things I want to say so I'm editing it. Actually, pretty much re-writing it.

I am completely at a loss to understand why anyone would want to ban this book. I found nothing at all objectionable in it. One complaint I read about was that it contained "magical realism" -- but the only thing I found was the magic of a child's imagination. That is a thing to be celebrated and encouraged, not banned.

I'm not a mother but if I were, I would want my child to read this book. Then I would talk about it with him or her. It's such a beautiful story with so many life lessons. There's no getting around the fact that death is real and it happens to us all. Shielding children from it serves no purpose, and I believe it actually does harm. We've now lost the early exposure to death that children got from farm animals, from close-knit communities and churches. Those experiences helped children learn about death from a little bit of emotional distance. How brutal if a child's very first experience with death is a beloved grandparent, parent, or sibling.

I think everyone should read A Bridge to Terabithia, regardless of their age. Re-reading every few years is a good idea too. It's timeless, and one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful stories I've ever read. ( )

I've always known of this book but have not actually read it until now. Some friends recently moved into Katherine Paterson's former home so learning a bit more about her and finding a used copy of the book, I enjoyed being transported to another time and place. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of characters, although Jess seemed to possess an extraordinary maturity. I'd love him to be my big brother! ( )

Summer 2019 (audiobook);

This was a cute book that I picked up on (one of the many) Audible sales last spring. I'd heard of the book and seen the previews in my life for the movie, but never ended up reading or watching it before it passed on some $2-3 audio sale. I couldn't pass on it and so I picked it up, and in my classroom, one of my students noticed I had it on my 'reading for the month' list and told me how crushed they'd been about the death of the little girl.

I had stood there and blinked and their eyes went wide and they started apologizing, so I patted their hand and said it was fine. That good books should still be good even if you know what's coming. Still, it put me a little off of it and I set the book down for 3-4 months, too, and finally came back to it this past week while trying to blitz through audible books still on my device in started-but-not-finished states.

This book was cute, if written for young children, with generic simple settings and situations. I was surprised about how quickly the death happened on the heels of something so good, but I was unsurprised to see that I had rightly guessed how the death would happen. I very much did get goosebumps at the ending lines between our main character and his little sister, which made me feel really proud and pleased about the continual passing of the magic to the younger generations. ( )

I wasn't born when this book was published. I was 7 when the film came out. It stuck in my mind. Everything about it is beautiful, sad, and raw. Reading it for the first time is so pure and nostalgic. I am so happy to have been gifted such a lovely book. I hope to pass it down to my sister and kids one day. Thanks Sarah! ( )

Independent reading (ages 9+)