He had to be the fastest-not one of the fastest or next to the fastest, but the fastest. He figured if he worked at itand Lord, had he worked-he could be- the fastest runner in the fifth grade when school opened up. He had gotten up early every day all summer to run. May Belle smiled and snuggled down under the- sheet. He patted May Belle's hair and yanked the twisted sheet up to her small chin. Momma would be mad as flies in a fruit jar if they woke her up this time of day. He didn't worry about a shirt because once he began running he would be hot as popping grease even if the morning air was chill, or shoes because the, bottoms of his feet were by now as tough as his worn-out sneakers.Įre you going, Jess?' May Belle lifted herself up sleepily from the double bed where she and Joyce Ann slept. Jess slid out of bed and into his overalls. that creates it.'īa-room, ba-room, ba-room, baripity, baripity, baripity, baripity-Good. 'People bring their own lives to the book, their own images. 'It's been absolutely miraculous to me over the years that people have not only read the book but they have loved it,' she says. Paterson says that the books we read in childhood are a rehearsal for experiences later in life. Writing the book brought Paterson emotional understanding about terrible events, but over the years, critics have wondered whether its themes are too heavy for children. Now a screenwriter, he adapted his mother's famed novel for the big screen, a project he says has taken the better part of 17 years to get right. Paterson's son, David, gave her permission to publish the book more than 30 years ago.

They create a make-believe world of their own and forge a fast friendship before a tragic end. The novel tells the story of Jess Aarons, a fifth-grade boy who befriends the new girl in his rural Virginia town. The book has since become a classic and was just released as a Disney film. Award-winning children's author Katherine Paterson was inspired to write The Bridge to Terabithia after her son's childhood friend was struck and killed by lightning.

Terabithia book