A Bridge from Childhood

It’s easy to think of the “Chronicles of Narnia” after seeing the movie ads promoting “Bridge to Tarabithia,” based on the coming of age story by Katherine Paterson. The movie will have to stray greatly from the book to reach that level of fantasy, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Paterson’s story – a Newberry Award winner – needs no talking animals to deliver an emotional message of self-discovery, a story springing from a real-life event in the author’s life.
Jess Aarons is a fifth grader in a poor rural community who wants nothing more than to be the fastest runner in school. When a family moves into the run-down farmhouse next door, Jess will have nothing to do with the tomboy daughter, a girl named Leslie who not only possesses a quick wit, but is fast on her feet as well. It turns out she is so fast that the fun of the recess race quickly fades for the boys of Lark Creek Elementary.
Surprisingly, Jess finds that Leslie turns out to be more than a great competitor, and in short order, the two become inseparable friends who find escape in a make-believe world they call Tarabithia. It’s just a crude fort in the woods, but there they rule as king and queen over legions of imagined subjects. Leslie spins tales as easily as do her book-writing parents and Jess soon finds greater causes in the world than winning footraces, and discovers an inner strength born of great tragedy.
Her books are geared to young adults, but Katherine Paterson is – above all else – a first-rate storyteller. The book is now in its thirtieth year, and beyond an innocuous reference or two, has a completely undated timeliness that will serve it well for another thirty, with or without a talking lion.