Genre: Fantasy
Age: 5th grade and up
Plot: When a boy named Jess is taunted at school by bullies, he meets a new student/neighbor, named Leslie. Leslie is the daughter of two writers, and she has developed a strong imagination. Jess is a boy who, under strict guidance from his father, learns that there is a difference between realigy and fantasy. That, life does not always have to be so serious. Together, Jess and Leslie use a rope to swing their entire bodies over a small creek, and onto the other side of the forest. In the forest, they encounter magical creatures and build a treehouse--just for the two of them! Leslie names the forest Terebithia, and this magical place is a secret for them. This place is a way for them to escape the bullies, and become heroes of the forest. Jess is an artist too, and when his teacher invites him to visit an art exhibit, he does not invite Leslie to go. When Jess returns from the art exhibit he finds that Leslie has died.Jess then returns to the forest and imagines an even greater magical land and invites his sister to join him.
Review: This book is great for tweens because it shows realistic situations during school. Bullies exist! Sometimes it is hard to make friends in school, , life, and death. One way to move beyond the bullies and the harshness of life is to imagine a world that is ones own. This book invites kids to user their imagination and dream of a world of magical creatures. The world of fantasy can be an illusion for children to deal with hard topics in thier own way. WHen they return to reality (home, school) then they become stronger individuals. The secret hideaway allows children to escape and figure out life through imagination, and nature. Tweens might not understand real life, but through adventure and fantasy they can understand fear, danger, and even death.
Observation: Because there is an unknown world, this book involves danger, adventure, fantasy, and allows children to stand up to the monsters. This book also sends a positive message about friendships--boys and girls can be friends. This books revals how a person in a not-so-good situation can escape through thier imagination: the world of fantasy.
Similar Books: A few books are similar to this one based on the genre fantasy: 1.) Secret Garden. Both sets of characters enter into a new world through the forest. 2.) Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Children escape into another world through a wardrobe and become kings and queens.
Readers Advisory
This book has won many awards, most notably:
Newbery Medal 1978
ALA Notable Children's Books 1977
School Library Journal Best Book of 1977
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1978
Le Grand Prix des Jeunes Lecturs (France), 1986
1986 Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
Subject: bullies, death, and friendship
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