Jess wakes before dawn each morning to practice running in the cow pasture, determined to become the fastest kid in school.

A new family moves into the run-down Perkins farmhouse next door to the Aarons.

Leslie surprises everyone at recess by beating all the fifth-grade boys in the school races.

Jess turns to smile at Leslie during music class, deciding that befriending her marks the beginning of a new season in his life.

Jess and Leslie discover a rope swing over the dry creek bed behind their houses and create the imaginary kingdom of Terabithia.

Jess secretly finds a free puppy and gives it to Leslie in Terabithia, where they crown it Prince Terrien, guardian of the kingdom.

Leslie attends Easter Sunday church service with the Aarons family for the first time.

Spring rains cause the dry creek to overflow, and Jess grows increasingly afraid to cross into Terabithia.

Miss Edmunds calls and invites Jess to visit the National Art Gallery in Washington, DC.

Driving past the Burkes' house with Miss Edmunds, Jess realizes he never thought to invite Leslie along.

Jess arrives home from Washington to find his family distressed; his sister Brenda tells him Leslie has died.

Jess runs down the road screaming in denial and his father chases after him, holding him tightly until he stops struggling.

At the Burkes' home, Jess hears that Leslie will be cremated and realizes he will never see her again.

Mr. Aarons follows Jess to the creek after the visit to the Burkes and holds him, saying simply, 'Hell, ain't it?'

Jess builds a proper lumber bridge across the creek and leads May Belle into Terabithia, crowning her as its new queen.

The story follows Jess Aarons, a lonely fifth-grade boy who spends the summer training to become the fastest runner in school, desperate to earn his father's approval. When a bold and unconventional new girl named Leslie Burke moves next door, she upends his world by beating all the boys at the races and becoming his unlikely best friend. Together they create Terabithia, a secret imaginary kingdom in the woods that becomes a sanctuary from the hardships of daily life. The friendship transforms Jess, making him more courageous and open to the world around him. Tragedy strikes when Leslie drowns in the flooded creek on the same day Jess takes a long-dreamed-of art trip to Washington, DC, with his music teacher. After grieving with the help of his father, Jess honors Leslie's memory by building a proper bridge to Terabithia and welcoming his little sister May Belle in as its new queen.

The headline moments of Jess and Leslie's friendship and its devastating loss.

Miss Edmunds asks to see Jess's drawings during their first music class of the year and warmly praises his talent.

Leslie introduces herself to Jess at the pasture fence and suggests they be friends, but he brushes her off and walks away.

Leslie arrives on the first day of school wearing worn cutoffs and a blue undershirt, and her desk is crammed at the front facing the whole class.

Girls at school mock Leslie during recess for her tomboyish appearance and for not owning a television.

Jess and Leslie gather planks of wood and build a castle stronghold inside the forest of Terabithia.

Janice Avery steals May Belle's Twinkies on the school bus, leaving May Belle furiously demanding Jess avenge her.

Jess sneaks into the seventh-grade classroom and plants a forged love letter from Willard Hughes in Janice Avery's desk.

Janice misses her school bus waiting for Willard Hughes, completely taken in by the fake love letter.

Leslie gives Jess a set of watercolor paints, brushes, and paper as his Christmas gift.

Jess helps Leslie and her father Bill renovate their farmhouse and earns admiring praise for his practical skills.

Leslie finds Janice Avery crying alone in the school bathroom and learns that Janice's father beats her badly.

May Belle confesses to Jess that she has been secretly following him and Leslie into Terabithia.

Jess and Leslie cross the swollen, muddy creek together while Leslie turns the danger into a game about an evil curse on the kingdom.

Jess sees a miniature of buffalo stampeding over a cliff at the Smithsonian and is both horrified and enraptured.

Jess slaps May Belle across the face after she asks whether he got to see Leslie's body.

Before Jess and Leslie become close friends, both children exist as lonely outsiders — Jess hiding his love of art from disapproving classmates and family, and Leslie confounding her new peers with her unconventional appearance and lack of a television. Their growing bond is tested and deepened through smaller but meaningful events, from outsmarting the school bully Janice Avery with a forged love letter to painstakingly building their castle stronghold together deep in the Terabithia woods. The holiday season cements their friendship as Leslie gives Jess precious art supplies and he throws himself into helping her family renovate their farmhouse. As spring arrives and the rains grow heavy, a tense crossing of the flooded creek together reveals both their courage and Jess's mounting dread. The shattering aftermath of Leslie's death brings out unexpected dimensions in the people around Jess, from May Belle's fierce and loyal devotion to a surprising act of compassion from their formidable teacher, Mrs. Myers.

The everyday moments and supporting events that shaped Jess and Leslie's world.

Jess's father grumbles about old ladies turning his son into something girly, forcing Jess to hide his love of drawing from everyone.

Jess watches Leslie run home from the bus stop after school and privately thinks she is beautiful.

Janice Avery falsely accuses Jess of tripping her on the bus, getting him thrown off, and Leslie tells him he must learn to stand up for himself.

Jess tries to draw Terabithia but grows frustrated; Leslie assures him that he will eventually find a way to capture its magic.

May Belle taunts Jess as 'yeller,' stinging his pride and pushing him to finally agree to help plot revenge against Janice Avery.

Jess's only Easter request is to bring Leslie to church, despite his mother's fear that Leslie will look down on them.

May Belle warns Leslie she will burn in hell if she does not believe in Jesus; Leslie says she cannot believe God would allow that.

Jess privately resolves that the very morning of his DC trip he will finally tell Leslie he is too afraid to enter the flooded Terabithia.

Jess quickly secures permission from his barely-awake mother and rushes out the door to join Miss Edmunds before she can say no.

Jess convinces himself that night that Leslie's death must have been a nightmare, certain that she simply cannot really be dead.

Jess runs to the creek bed and hurls the watercolor paints Leslie gave him into the water in grief and rage.

Mr. Aarons reassures Jess that God would never send a little girl like Leslie to hell.

Jess drags a fallen tree branch across the creek and crosses alone into Terabithia to build a funeral wreath honoring Leslie.

Mrs. Myers calls Jess into the hallway and confides that she too knows the pain of losing someone she loved deeply.

Bill Burke gives Jess all of Leslie's art supplies and books before the Burke family loads up the U-Haul and departs for Pennsylvania.

Jess's story is shaped by a chain of pivotal moments that expose his deepest fears and push him steadily toward growth. His father's contempt for his artwork forces Jess to hide a core part of himself, even as small private revelations — like realizing Leslie is beautiful — signal that his emotional walls are already cracking. As Jess and Leslie's friendship takes hold in Terabithia, turning points like May Belle's taunting dare and the Easter church visit test their bond and force both children to confront questions bigger than themselves. The day Leslie dies is framed by a cruel irony: the very morning Jess finally resolves to confess his terror of the flooding creek, he is swept away on a joyful art trip and never gets the chance. The grief that follows drives Jess through denial and rage before a quiet series of encounters — with his father beside the creek, with a compassionate Mrs. Myers in a hallway, and finally with the silent woods of Terabithia — allow him to find acceptance, meaning, and the courage to lead someone else across the bridge.

The key decisions, revelations, and emotional shifts that define Jess's journey from fear to courage.