a sacred place, not a fearful one. This is the beginning of their journey to Terabithia, the mythical land the kids form in the forest.

Without revealing this bit of information, the children's friendship would likely never have blossomed, leaving Jess distant and cold without true friendship and Leslie lonely in her new town. By opening up, the two of them truly began to bond.

Jess tells Leslie that he and his family are going to church on Easter Sunday. It's the only time of year they do go to church, but even so, Jess still finds it a terrible chore. He thinks of it as a really boring, monotonous experience from which he derives neither enjoyment nor enlightenment. For him, it's a complete waste of time.

Leslie, however, is intrigued by the notion of going to church and asks if she can tag along. She's never been to church before and so it'll be a whole new experience for her. Jess can't understand why someone would actually choose to go church. He only goes because he has no choice. But Leslie insists and manages to persuade Jess' mother to let her accompany the Aarons on their yearly church visit.

As expected, Jess finds the service every bit as tedious and as unfulfilling as he'd imagined it would be. Leslie, on the other hand, is in her element. She finds the story of Jesus really quite beautiful and inspiring. Though she still can't subscribe to the understanding of God held by Jess' younger sister May Belle, who seems to think of God as a ruthless tyrant who goes round punishing sinners left, right, and center.

Jessie is the middle child and the only boy in his family, "smashed between four sisters...the older two had despised (him) ever since (he) stopped letting them dress (him) up and wheel (him) around in their rusty old doll carriage, and the littlest one cried if you looked at her cross-eyed".  He is tormented by Brenda and Ellie, who are spoiled adolescents, and ends up picking up the slack for the work they won't do, and Joyce Ann, the baby, just annoys him.  He is closest to May Belle, who, "going on seven...worshipped him" (Chapter 1).

Jessie's parents, exhausted and preoccupied with financial worries, don't have much time for him.  His mother heaps the bulk of responsibility for chores onto his shoulders, and his father is distant.  Jessie longs for a better relationship with him, wishing he were little like Joyce Ann and May Belle so his father would show affection to him - "it seemed...that he had been thought too big for that since the day he was born" (Chapter 2) .  When Jessie is in desperate need after Leslie's death, however, his parents, especially his father, are there for him.

Jesse is outnumbered 3:1 with sister in his family.  His mother is overly tired from a number of things, but to name a few--her kids, her work, her poverty, and life in general.  She neglects the children, and especially Jesse.

The father isn't much different.  He worries about money and neglects the children as well--after all, this is woman's work.

The chores are divided by male and female roles, which means Jesse does the majority of the chores while his sisters have more of a childhood.

This is why Jesse latches onto Leslie and her vivid imagination, and also why he neglects to invite Leslie to the museum with their teacher which leads to Leslie's death.

Only after Leslie's death does Jesse get the care and concern his parents have neglected to give him because of all the weight of their own worries.

Jess is a bit of an outcast in his family.  He is not the typical boy of the time, being more interested in art than he is in farming.  He is withdrawn and misunderstood by his parents, particularly his father.  He is the only boy and is relied upon to care for his two younger sisters and for the farm chores.  His two older sisters, adolescents concerned with social status, ridicule and/or ignore him.  His friendship with Leslie in part springs from a need to feel that he has an ally in the world.

Point: Jesse and his father do not have much of a relationship, but the relationship that they do have is not terrible. I don't want to make it seem like the relationship is dangerous, inappropriate, or abusive. It's not.

Evidence: The reason that there isn't much of a relationship is because Mr. Aarons is not home much. He leaves early for work and returns home late. He doesn't make a lot of money and must work long hours far from home to support his five children. That means he doesn't have a lot of time or energy to spend with Jesse. Consequently, Jesse longs for any time he can spend with his father. He wants more than anything to make his dad feel proud of him, which he thinks in the following passage of the novel:  

Maybe Dad would be so proud he'd forget all about how tired he was from the long drive back and forth to Washington and the digging and hauling all day. He would get right down on the floor and wrestle, the way they used to. Old Dad would be surprised at how strong he'd gotten in the last couple of years.

There is a small problem with the relationship that goes beyond not spending enough time together. The "problem" is that Jesse loves to draw and do art. He is not interested in football or driving trucks like other boys his age. Mr. Aarons isn't supportive of Jesse's talent. He doesn't see how it is a useful skill; therefore, Jesse is scared to show his father his real talents and interests.  

When he was in first grade, he had told his dad that he wanted to be an artist when he grew up. He'd thought his dad would be pleased. He wasn't. "What are they teaching in that damn school?" he had asked. "Bunch of old ladies turning my only son into some kind of a..." He had stopped on the word, but Jess had gotten the message. It was one you didn't forget, even after four years.

Explanation: The two already don't spend enough time together, but the relationship is made tougher by Jesse having to hide parts of his true self. 

This is a great question, because the text offers a few possibilities that explain why Jess doesn't invite Leslie to go along with Miss Edmunds.  

I think one reason is simple, polite etiquette.  Miss Edmunds invited Jess.  If she wanted to invite Leslie too, she would have done so.  It is not Jess's place to invite somebody else along.  

Another reason is that Jess has a bit of a crush on Miss Edmunds.  First, the text tells readers that she is a fairly attractive teacher (at least in Jess's eyes).  Second, Miss Edmunds is the only teacher that encourages Jess to pursue his passion for drawing and art.  Spending time alone with Miss Edmunds is huge.  Jess doesn't have to share his time with his crush with anybody, and she will be able to focus entirely on Jess.  

I think that one-on-one time with an adult is a huge draw for Jess as well.  He comes from a family of five kids.  His parents simply do not have time and energy to devote one-on-one time to each child.  Leslie is the only child living with her parents, so spending quality time with an adult is something that happens to her all of the time.  Jess wants to experience some of that for a change.  

I think a final reason for not inviting Leslie is that Jess doesn't want to have to face Leslie and tell her that he doesn't want to go to Terabithia while the river is flowing so violently.  He's afraid of what Leslie might think about him, so a day alone with Miss Edmunds lets Jess avoid that conversation for an entire day. 

The relationship between Jesse Aarons and his father can reasonably be described as not very close. There are a number of reasons for this. First and foremost, Mr. Aarons's job prevents him from developing close bonds with his son. Needing to work long hours to support his family means that Mr. Aarons never gets to spend much time with them. Inevitably, this has a damaging impact on his relationship with Jesse.

Jesse and his dad also have different personalities, which puts them at odds. Jesse is good at art and loves to draw. But Mr. Aarons is more of a macho type of guy who doesn't think that boys should be spending their time engaging in activities he regards as effeminate.

When Jesse was in first grade and told his dad about his artistic ambitions, Mr. Aarons was far from pleased. He very nearly accused the “old ladies” at Jesse's school of turning his son into a homosexual.

Mr. Aarons's intemperate outburst had an immediate negative impact on Jesse; he thought his dad would be proud of him and was hurt and disappointed by his reaction. Even years after the event, Jesse hasn't forgotten about it, a clear indication of just how badly it has affected both him and the relationship he has with his father.

Jesse initially feels somewhat uncomfortable around Leslie's father. He even takes a certain dislike toward him. The main reason for this is jealousy—Jesse doesn't like the fact that Leslie's dad is taking up so much time that he, Jesse, could be spending with his close friend.

Without Leslie, Jesse feels bored and lonely, so it's not surprising that he feels somewhat resentful toward Leslie's dad for keeping her away from him. That's not to say that Leslie's dad is doing any of this to spite Jesse; he needs Leslie's help in making extensive renovations to their house.

But Jesse is too young, too insecure, and too immature to understand this. To make matters worse, Leslie's close, loving relationship with her father stands in stark contrast to Jesse's nonexistent relationship with his own dad. Seeing how well Leslie and her father get along together acts as a constant reminder to Jesse of just what he's missing in his own life.

I believe that this question is asking about events that are narrated to us in chapter seven. The start of chapter 7 has the narrator explaining to readers that Jess finds it odd that Leslie enjoys working with her father so much on weekends. He is especially confused that their "work" often turns into intellectual discussion in which no actual work happens.

Half the time they were supposed to be working they were just yakking away.

Jess finds this relationship so odd and so uncomfortable to be around that he actually avoids being at Leslie's house. Part of Jess is annoyed that Mr. Burke is robbing him of potential time with Leslie.

Jess's feelings about Leslie's father poked up like a canker sore. . . . Lord, that man got in his way. It even poisoned what time he did have with Leslie.

Leslie is quite astute, so she invites Jess to come and work with them one weekend. Leslie hopes that Jess will learn to enjoy the work and the discussions. Jess figures that giving it a try can't hurt, so he agrees to Leslie's suggestion. Jess is somewhat surprised that he actually enjoys the combination of manual labor and intellectual discussions.

There are a number of reasons. For one thing, Jess doesn't really like Leslie's father, Bill; at least, not initially. It's not that Bill's a bad man, it's just that he does seem to take up rather a lot of Leslie's time, time that could be better spent with Jess. At least that's what Jess thinks anyway. We should always remember that Jess is quite a lonely boy, and so without Leslie to keep him occupied, he quickly gets bored. So one could say that perhaps Jess is being a little selfish here; although given the circumstances of his home life it's perfectly understandable.

That leads us on to the other main reason why Jess doesn't want to go to Leslie's house: his non-existent relationship with his father. Leslie and her dad have the kind of close relationship that Jess can only dream about. Being around them together will act as an unwelcome reminder of just how bad things are at home between Jess and his own dad.

For the most part, the film version of Bridge to Terabithia is a faithful adaptation of the book. It keeps key scenes, doesn't change much regarding characters, and nails the emotional core of the book. For example, the film does a wonderful job of conveying to viewers the relationship that exists between Jess and Leslie, and this is why the film is just as devastating to watch as the book is to read. When Leslie dies, we are heartbroken right alongside of Jess in both versions.

In terms of the film's representation of the relationship between Jess and his dad, this is also much the same in the book as it is in the movie. It is clear that the relationship between them is strained. There is a scene in the film wherein we see Jess's dad get incredibly angry over a set of missing keys. This shows us that Jess's dad is a tough task master with little ability to soften his responses for his young son. He's a hard man, and it takes Leslie's death for Jess to finally see that his dad does indeed love him. The scene with Jess and his dad crying together in the forest is an important scene because we see that Jess's dad truly does care about Jess and can be soft for him. While the film does do a decent job of showing the dad's hardness, it does fail to sell it as well as the book because the film can't give us Jess's thoughts the same way that the book does.