Bridge to Terabithia provides a sensitive treatment of death. While Paterson's Christian beliefs influence her approach to this subject, the novel's symbolic and ethical systems are broad enough that they should not prove controversial. The novel acknowledges that children often have to face life's harsh realities and serves as a primer on grieving. It is a positive portrayal of characters dealing with the sense of loss, anger, and loneliness that follows the death of a loved one.

Also valuable is the novel's depiction of the rural poor and day-to-day farm life. Paterson contrasts the Aaron family's hardships with a humorous look at the liberal, well-intentioned Burke family's attempt to absorb rural virtues without facing the financial difficulties or the hard physical labor that characterize their neighbors' lives. The portrait of Janice Avery elucidates the plight of child abuse victims. The reader sees Janice's loyalty to a...