Background
Katherine Paterson spent a period of her life living in Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The inspiration for the novel draws from a tragic event that occurred on August 14, 1974 when Lisa Christina Hill, the best friend of Paterson's son David, was struck by lightning at a beach and killed.
A tree dedicated to the girl who died is planted in memorial outside of Takoma Park Elementary School, a local elementary school for Pre-K to second grade. A creek that runs through Takoma Park, Sligo Creek, possibly served as further inspiration.
The name of Terabithia, the imaginary kingdom, sounds very much like Terebinthia, a Narnian island, created by C. S. Lewis for both Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Katherine Paterson acknowledges that Terabithia is likely derived from Terebinthia.
- "I thought I had made it up. Then, rereading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis, I realized that I had probably gotten it from the island of Terebinthia in that book. However, Lewis probably got that name from the Terebinth tree in the Bible, so both of us pinched from somewhere else, probably unconsciously."
Bridge to Terabithia makes a direct reference to The Chronicles of Narnia, with Leslie lending the stories to Jess so that he can learn to behave like a king.
Read more about this topic: Bridge To Terabithia (novel)
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