LS 5623 Advanced Literature for Young Adults

Speare, Elizabeth George. 1958. THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND. New York: Bantom Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0440995779

Review:
The story begins with Kit Tyler's journey from Barbados to Connecticut after the death of her doting grandfather. Even before she reaches her destination she begins to find that her manners and habits are shocking to the strict puritans who inhabit the area. Kit must also grow accustomed to the absence of the luxuries she grew up with and learn to work alongside her Aunt's family. After running off one afternoon, scolded for yet another offense, she meets the witch of Blackbird Pond; who is merely a simple Quaker woman, spurned from society because of her religion. It is at the witches home that Kit teaches a local neglected little girl how to read. After a deadly illness sweeps the town, Kit must rescue the witch from an angry mob and then face judgment herself when the mob discovers evidence that Kit also practices witchcraft.

It is easy for the reader to identify with Kit's unease with being surrounded by people who's ways are so different from her own, and are very different from our own. The outsider point of view of this character is part of what makes Speare's novel a good work of historical fiction. The plot of the story and the details of life in colonial Connecticut are simply written yet easy to visualize, such as how much work it takes to keep a small household fed and running, and the strict lifestyle of a Puritan community. Also noteworthy for this book is the way that tension runs among the colonists over the governors assigned to them when they feel they are better able to govern themselves.


Awards/Reviews:
Newbery Medal winner 1959
School Library Journal: "Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler unexpectedly arrives at her aunt and uncle's doorstep and is unprepared for the new world which awaits her."

This book could begin discussions on the Salem Witch Trials, Puritan life, and Colonial American life.
Other books by Elizabeth George Speare:
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver. ISBN 9780440479000
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Bronze Bow. ISBN 9780395137192



Image credit: www.quakerbooks.org