Real Story Behind Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Did you know that Katherine Paterson's 1978 classic "Bridge to Terabithia" was inspired by a real life events from her son's childhood?  Click on "Read More" below to learn more.

*Spoiler Alert*


As you may know, "Bridge to Terabithia" is about the friendship between fifth-graderse Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke, who create an imaginary world called Terabithia, which they enter by swinging over a creek.  Tragedy strikes when Leslie falls into the creek and drowns when trying to get to Terabithia alone.

Katherine Paterson wrote the book to make sense of a real life tragedy - the death of an eight-year-old girl, Lisa who was struck by lightning the summer after second grade.  David, Katherine's third child, had been best friends with Lisa, and the two of them would play imaginative games in the woods behind her house.

Although she says she did not fully realize it at the time, Katherine Paterson also wrote the book to face her own mortality, as she had been diagnosed with cancer earlier that year (the tumor was successfully removed).

More Interesting Facts

• Katherine Paterson originally thought she made up the name "Terabithia", but near the end of writing the book she realized it was the name of a Narnian island in C.S. Lewis's "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".
• Her son David wrote the screenplay for the 2007 movie adaptation (a must-see movie).   

Did "Bridge to Terabithia" help you or your child deal with a loss?  Why do you think Leslie had to die at the end of the story?  Please share your thoughts.