50 Fun Facts About Bridge to Terabithia

How does Leslie Burke die in Bridge to Terabithia while Jess is visiting a museum?

She drowns in the creek after a fall knocks her unconscious, on a morning when days of rain have turned the dry gully into a torrent. Jess blames himself for not inviting her along.

Whom does Jess make the new queen of Terabithia after building a bridge over the creek?

May Belle is the only sister Jess feels close to, and the first to learn the kingdom exists: she had secretly followed him and Leslie to the creek.

Which household item do Leslie Burke's classmates mock her family for lacking in Bridge to Terabithia?

A television is missing from the Burke home, a fact that comes out when Leslie asks Mrs. Myers how to do homework that means watching a programme about Jacques Cousteau.

Lisa Hill, the girl whose death inspired Bridge to Terabithia, was killed by what at Bethany Beach, Delaware?

A lightning strike killed eight-year-old Lisa, the best friend of the author's son David, in August 1974. The novel's dedication page carries David's name.

In Bridge to Terabithia, which treat does Janice Avery steal after Jess's sister brags about it on the bus?

Twinkies were a treat her father had brought from town, and she had bragged about them on the bus. Unable to fight Janice, Jess is called "yeller" by his sister.

What does Jess Aarons, almost penniless, give Leslie Burke for Christmas in Bridge to Terabithia?

A puppy cost him nothing: he jumped off the school bus early after spotting a sign offering them free. Leslie tells him it beats the present she gives him.

Which fantasy series does Leslie Burke lend Jess so he can behave like a king of Terabithia?

The Chronicles of Narnia also left a mark on the kingdom's name: the author later realised Terabithia echoes Terebinthia, an island in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

At which recess contest does newcomer Leslie Burke beat every boy in Bridge to Terabithia?

Running races were meant to be Jess's moment: he had trained all summer to be the fastest kid in fifth grade. Leslie wins his heat, then the final.

How do Jess and Leslie cross the dry creek bed to enter their secret kingdom of Terabithia?

Swinging on a rope is the rule Leslie sets for entering the secret country. Jess, who finds the courtly talk hard, proves better at building their fort.

How do Jess and Leslie get revenge on Janice Avery for bullying Jess's sister in Bridge to Terabithia?

A forged love letter, supposedly from her crush Willard Hughes, promises Janice a date. Her friend spreads the news on the bus, and she is humiliated when he never shows.

Which American author wrote Bridge to Terabithia after her young son lost his best friend?

Katherine Paterson went on to serve as the second US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a Library of Congress post, in 2010 and 2011.

Which American children's book prize did Bridge to Terabithia win the year after it was published?

The Newbery Medal went to the novel in 1978, and its author won it a second time three years later for Jacob Have I Loved.

Which future Hunger Games star played Jess Aarons in the 2007 film of Bridge to Terabithia?

Josh Hutcherson was not the filmmakers' first choice for Jess: they settled on him after seeing his chemistry with the girl already cast as Leslie.

Which actress landed Leslie Burke in the 2007 film of Bridge to Terabithia after writing to its director?

AnnaSophia Robb was the first actor cast, after telling director Gábor Csupó how much she loved the book. She also recorded a song, Keep Your Mind Wide Open, whose video is on the DVD.

Which subject does Miss Edmunds, the young teacher Jess has a crush on, teach in Bridge to Terabithia?

Music class on Fridays is the one thing that gets Jess through the school week. Miss Edmunds tells him he is unusually talented and calls him a diamond in the rough.

To which city does Miss Edmunds take Jess in Bridge to Terabithia on the day Leslie dies?

Washington gives Jess his first visit to an art gallery, then the Smithsonian, and he calls it a perfect day. Only on the road does he realise he could have asked Leslie along.

What name does Leslie Burke give the guardian and court jester of Terabithia?

Prince Terrien, P.T. for short, stays with Jess while the grieving Burkes are away. Leslie's father had meant to give him to Jess, but cannot part with him.

What is the name of the Aarons family cow that Jess must milk each day in Bridge to Terabithia?

Miss Bessie gets Jess out of the house: at milking time he meets Leslie, squirts fresh milk into her mouth and hears her ask to come to church with his family.

Lark Creek, the rural home of Jess Aarons in Bridge to Terabithia, lies in which US state?

Virginia is also where the author spent a year teaching at a rural elementary school, long before she wrote the novel.

What do Leslie Burke's parents, Bill and Judy, both do for a living in Bridge to Terabithia?

Writers both, the Burkes act humble, but Jess can tell they have plenty of money. He feels out of place in their home and thinks Leslie is out of place in his.

Which hobby does Leslie Burke describe in the essay Mrs. Myers reads aloud in Bridge to Terabithia?

Scuba diving wins Leslie the teacher's praise, which even she knows only makes enemies. The essay itself frightens Jess as he listens.

What do Lark Creek locals call the run-down farmhouse the Burkes move into in Bridge to Terabithia?

The old Perkins place never keeps its tenants long, so Jess shrugs off the news. The narrator notes that he will later marvel at how the biggest thing in his life began as nothing.

Why did Leslie Burke's wealthy parents leave the suburbs for a Lark Creek farm in Bridge to Terabithia?

To reassess their values, or in Leslie's borrowed phrase to go "reassessing their value structure", after deciding that money had become too important to them.

Which part of the woods, once feared by Jess, does Leslie Burke call Terabithia's most sacred place?

The pine forest becomes the grove where the two give thanks after their victories, and where Leslie later prays to the spirits to lift the endless rain.

Which animal does Jess draw tumbling off a cliff, as a joke, in Bridge to Terabithia?

A hippo falling off a cliff is a joke he thinks his little sister would laugh at. He longs to show his father too, but does not dare.

Which nickname do pupils give Mrs. Myers, the elderly fifth-grade teacher in Bridge to Terabithia?

Monster Mouth Myers shows another side after Leslie's death: she takes Jess out to the hallway and tells him Leslie was the best student she ever had.

In Bridge to Terabithia, what do disapproving locals call Miss Edmunds, who wears trousers to school?

A hippie is what Jess's mother calls her, and pupils sneer the same word, yet they love her Friday classes while pretending not to.

Which Shakespeare tragedy does Leslie Burke retell in Terabithia while plotting against Janice Avery?

Hamlet is one of the stories Leslie retells in the kingdom, as she earlier did with Moby-Dick. While she talks, Jess imagines the picture he could make of it.

What does Leslie Burke give Jess when they swap Christmas presents in Terabithia on Christmas Eve?

Paints and paper are the proper art supplies Jess had longed to buy for himself. Leslie insists that his present to her is the better one.

Which faulty Christmas present from his father disappoints Jess in Bridge to Terabithia?

A racing car set cost more than his father could afford, yet it keeps going wrong, and Jess aches to see his father feel bad about the gift.

Which colour do Jess, Leslie and her father turn the living room in Bridge to Terabithia?

Gold walls end weeks in which Jess sulked, jealous of the time Leslie spent with her father, until she told him to come and help. They had not visited the kingdom for a month.

Where does Leslie Burke hear the bully Janice Avery crying in Bridge to Terabithia?

The girls' bathroom is where Leslie goes back in, at Jess's urging, to comfort her old enemy. She later tells Jess she now has a friend and a half at school.

Which secret about Janice Avery's home life do her friends spread around school in Bridge to Terabithia?

Her father beats her, and the friends she confided in told the whole school. Leslie advises her to act as if nothing happened, since everyone will forget within a week.

Why are the Aarons sisters told they cannot have new church clothes in Bridge to Terabithia?

Their father loses his job, ending the girls' squabble over outfits. When Brenda suggests buying clothes and returning them afterwards, he is furious.

At which holiday does Leslie Burke go to church with the Aarons family in Bridge to Terabithia?

Easter is the one time a year the Aarons family goes to church. Leslie calls the story of Jesus beautiful but questions it, which alarms Jess's little sister.

Which skill does Jess plan to learn from Leslie, hours before her death in Bridge to Terabithia?

Swimming is how Jess means to face his fears, a plan he makes while milking the cow that morning. He never gets to ask: a phone call from Miss Edmunds interrupts him.

What does Jess do on hearing of Leslie's death in Bridge to Terabithia, shouting that it is a lie?

He bolts down the road until his father, following in the pickup, pulls ahead, lifts him in and drives him home. Jess wakes that night thinking it was all a dream.

What does Jess's mother cook him for breakfast the morning after Leslie's death in Bridge to Terabithia?

Pancakes, which Jess eats ravenously, mistaking the bad feeling in his stomach for hunger. His sister Brenda scolds him for seeming not to care.

How do the Burkes lay Leslie to rest in Bridge to Terabithia, news that makes her death real to Jess?

Cremation is the word, spoken by Leslie's father, that finally makes Jess grasp she is gone. Furious and bereft, he flees the house feeling she has abandoned him.

Which fear about Leslie does a sobbing Jess confess to his father after her death in Bridge to Terabithia?

That she is in hell, an idea planted when his little sister warned Leslie that God damns those who doubt the Bible. His father assures him it is not so.

What does a grieving Jess do with the Christmas present Leslie gave him in Bridge to Terabithia?

He throws it in the creek with a yell, then sobs to his father that he hates Leslie. His father holds him, and Jess later goes back to look for it.

To which state do the grieving Burkes travel after Leslie's death in Bridge to Terabithia?

Pennsylvania is where Bill Burke's family home lies. When the Burkes come back, it is only to pack up and leave Lark Creek.

What does Jess make and carry to the sacred grove of Terabithia in memory of Leslie Burke?

A funeral wreath is the tribute Jess settles on after wishing Leslie were there to tell him what to do. He feels at peace, until a scream comes from the creek.

How does Jess get across the creek to Terabithia on his first visit after Leslie's death?

On a large branch, which he uses as a makeshift crossing. His little sister, following him, freezes halfway over it and has to be coaxed back to the bank.

Whose death does Mrs. Myers recall when she comforts Jess in the hallway in Bridge to Terabithia?

Her husband's death taught her, she says, that people try to make you forget, and she did not want to. Jess regrets every joke he and Leslie made about her.

What does Jess use to build the bridge over the creek at the end of Bridge to Terabithia?

Lumber the Burkes left behind is his for the asking: Leslie's father says he may take anything from the house. He builds the crossing the very next day.

Which actress plays Miss Edmunds, the teacher Jess adores, in the 2007 film of Bridge to Terabithia?

Zooey Deschanel was singled out by The New York Times, whose critic praised all the leads but especially her and the young actress playing Jess's little sister.

Gábor Csupó, director of the 2007 Bridge to Terabithia film, co-created which Nickelodeon cartoon?

Rugrats made Csupó's name in animation, and he had never directed live action before. He kept the creature effects to a minimum out of respect for the book.

In which country was the 2007 film of Bridge to Terabithia shot, far from its rural American setting?

New Zealand hosted the 60-day shoot, in Auckland, and Weta Digital animated the kingdom's creatures.

Bridge to Terabithia ranked eighth on which organisation's list of the most challenged books of the 1990s?

American Library Association lists reflect objections to the death in the plot, to Jess saying "lord" outside prayer and to claims that the book promotes occultism.