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A Famous Teen Tale Hits the Big Screen
M
aybe you've read Katherine Paterson's award-winning teen novel Bridge to Terabithia. Now you can see it as a movie starring Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb. The new Disney film opens this week. Excited? Paterson is. In fact, when Weekly Reader asked the author if she had ever imagined her story as a Hollywood film, Paterson replied, "Not in my wildest dreams." Paterson gives the movie version of her tale two thumbs up. "I was happily surprised with the movie when I saw it." Paterson said, "It is not the book—which, of course, it can't be, but I think it is faithful to the story of friendship, loss, and new life that the book tells."

Those three themes run through Bridge, a novel about a boy named Jess Aarons who trains all summer for a race, only to be beaten by the new girl in school, Leslie Burke. Jess puts aside his jealousy and becomes best friends with Leslie. Together, they create a fantasy world called Terabithia.

When the book first came out in 1977, it was banned in some places because some adults thought that the subject matter wasn't appropriate for children to read. We asked 14-year-old Hutcherson (who plays Jess Aarons) what he thought about that. "I didn't know it had been banned." He said, "But it is very unlike a typical children's book. That's one of the reasons why I really liked the script. It's unlike a lot of family movies [that] are out right now…it does have some deeper shades to it, though."

The "deeper shades" that Hutcherson is talking about are issues that, Paterson says, sometimes need to be addressed with children. "Books can be a sort of rehearsal for real-life situations." Paterson said, "Books can also help you know and understand people quite different from yourself."

Thirteen-year-old Robb plays Leslie, a girl who understands her friend, Jess, very well. When we asked the actress what she thought Bridge to Terabithia is about, she also talked about its big messages. "What the big story tries to teach you," she said, "is to be kind to people for who they are and not to judge them. Also, that boys and girls can be friends. They don't have to keep in separate groups, and they don't have to be boyfriend and girlfriend. It's just about kindness and your imagination and having fun and still being able to be a child."

Bridge to Terabithia is now open in theaters everywhere.

Read the full interviews with Katherine Paterson, AnnaSophia Robb, and Josh Hutcherson on Weekly Reader's literary blog, WORD!

Links:


Check out this Bridge to Terabithia Word Hunt game!


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