Bridge to Terabithia

By: Katherine Paterson

Narrated by: Robert Sean Leonard

Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

This beloved Newbery Medal-winning novel by best-selling author Katherine Paterson is a modern classic of friendship and loss. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween listeners in grades five to six, especially during homeschooling. It's a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.

Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie's house, where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief. Bridge to Terabithia was also named an ALA Notable Children's Book and has become a touchstone of children's literature, as have many of Katherine Paterson's other novels, including The Great Gilly Hopkins and Jacob Have I Loved.

©1974 Katherine Paterson (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• Newbery Medal, 1978

"Paterson's Newbery-winning novel becomes an entertaining and dramatic audiobook via Leonard's accomplished reading." ( Publishers Weekly)
"This children's classic has been recorded several times, but Robert Sean Leonard has crafted a recording that earns its place among the best." ( AudioFile)

A favorite

I've always loved this book and am so happy to have shared it with my daughter. The narrator wasn't what I imagined when I read it years ago, but he does a fairly nice job. This book opens up discussions about bullying, self-esteem, death and so much more!

Inspiringly touching, tugging at my heartstrings!

As well as The Secret Garden！It is a bridge to imagination and gaiety, a bridge to friendship beyond death, and a bridge to the unknown and heaven, not hell!

Amazing book

I very much loved this book. The Literature in the book is amazing and very emotional. This book deserves this rating 100 percent

This is a book that I recommend for all ages!!!
😀😁😂😇😄🙂😋🙃😜😝😛🤑🤓😎📚📚

Bridge to Terabithia

I use this for 6th grade in which I have the book read aloud in its entirety to the class. We have many different levels of readers and this helps support the lower level practicing word recognition. The mid and higher levels enjoy the dramatization of the read aloud. My only thought during this particular book was that the narrator, whom I love as an actor, read it a little too fast. Other books that I use are at just a slightly slower pace. At the faster pace, students were missing some details and I would stop at those points and reread them.

This much-loved book just wasn't for me

I was excited to listen to this book. I am not familiar with it, but I read the enthusiast reviews in Amazon and know that it's a much-loved book. Also that fact that it has frequently been banned piqued my interest. Maybe without all the build-up I'd have enjoyed it and appreciated it more.

I usually listen to all my audio books at least twice. Alas with this book I didn't feel inspired to do that. However if I do listen again, and I get something more out of it from a subsequent reading I'll come back and change my ratings.

New narrator

I loved the book it is one of my favorites but could you get the book narrated by someone else?

Amazing story with an amazing narrator.

I was completely captivated by this story, even as a college student. I had never heard it before or see the film, but I knew it was tragic. The ending still hit me like a truck, and the writing was so good that I felt like I was really in the main character's shoes. The narrator did an amazing job as well ❤️‍🩹

Amazing story, amazing performance

The effect this story had on me I can compare only to To kill the Mockingbird had on me. The similarities in giving the details, the simplicity and warmth of the tone of voice the author is using to tell the story, the closeness to the main hero I felt immediately, the intensity of his joy and his loss. The vibrant colors of friendship, the one that only possible in childhood. The richness of imagination of the children that the author was able to bring.
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
This story will be classic. One of the must stories to read to become a better person.

10000000000000/10

I love this Book so much I am not a book reader but this was amazing.

Amazing and touching

My daughter loves the book but she never fails to find the dad little details. When she was little and couldn’t read she would follow along with the audiobook by looking at the book in person, that helped her learn how to read so fast. Thank you Katherine Paterson for so many amazing memories ❤️