Bridge To Terabithia Banned

Bridge to Terabithia, written by Katherine Paterson, is a novel meant for elementary schoolers, but this book has been banned in schools across the country. Now for a book to be banned it needs to be controversial, and most of Katherine Paterson’s books, Bridge to Terabithia specifically, fit that criteria. Banned in the U.S.A., by Herbert N. Foerstel, contains a section about Paterson and her works. It reads that most of her works are banned not for their content, but because they are too realistic and use common language and don’t have fairytale endings (Foerstel 166). This problem arises in Bridge to Terabithia because of the death of Leslie. Some teachers or parents might assume that the death of a character the child considers a “peer” would be traumatic or detrimental to the child. Paterson’s response to this claim was:
The books ended the …show more content…
Also, parents attack this book because of its references to what is interpreted as New Age religion and Christianity. New Age religion is interpreted from the scene where Leslie and Jesse go into the ‘Sacred Grove’ and speak with the spirits (Patterson 46-47); this is brought up in Banned in the U.S.A. (Foerstel 169). Christianity is primarily found in the chapter Easter, pages 78 to 85, where Jesse (Jess) takes Leslie to church. Finally, people challenge the book because of its offensive language. Since, Jess and Leslie are only in fifth grade and they are expected not to cursive because parents do not want their children copying that behavior. Even with the drawbacks it can still be valuable in the classroom and for the students. Bridge to Terabithia should be taught in schools because it features relatable characters for the students to connect to, it teaches vicarious lessons through Jesse and Leslie’s experiences, and it shows positive role models for the