The Witch of Blackbird Pond

By Elizabeth George Speare
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publish Date: December 1, 1958
ISBN: 0395071143

Plot:
Set in Connecticut in 1867, a young lady, "Kit" finds her life drastically changed from her childhood upbringing in the Caribbean with her "free spirited" grandfather. Kit has now traveled to a time of suspicion and fear of the unknown, and most importantly in the time of witch-hunts.
When Kit befriends the local recluse and hard times befalls the community, Kit is accused of assisting and dabbling in the occult.

Critical Analysis:
I an instantly drawn into the world of the Puritan/Quaker, Witch-hunts, etc. time periods, and this book was a perfect hit. I did find the reading simple in nature, and not many, if at all, advanced level wording. Therefore looking online I researched the reading level for this book to find a relatively average lexile of 850, thus explaining the ease of reading.
I felt that the character development was done very nicely, especially with the character of Kit and her cousins. Painting the townspeople of Wethersfield was also very in depth and helped to set the setting and understanding of the situation that makes Kit standout in this town. The author paints a vivid picture of the stark difference between the warm climate and colorful background of Bermuda versus the grey and plain vastness of Connecticut. In fact the heroine of the story describes her first description upon landing at Wethersfield:
"Her heart sank..... a narrow sandy stretch of shoreline, a few piles of sunk in the river with rough planking for a platform." (cont.) "No town, not a house, only a few men and boys and two papping dogs who had come to meet the boat." The reader can literally hear the disappointment in Kit's coming to America and her new home.
The development of the climax was relatively quick and over within a few chapters rather than building over time. And of course there was the dubious and predictable ending with Kit in jail facing witchcraft charges, released and freed from all wrong doings, then finding love, but I did like the fact that the "finding love" segment was not with a predictable suitor in town but the young (soon to be) Caption Eaton. I also had initial concerns regarding the number of "Thus," "Tis," and "Thous" that would be present in the book, and was shocked that there were only a few and usually with greetings or in simple sentences, it definitely did not drag into the storyline and reading. Perhaps this might have taken away the true authenticity of the culture to some degree, but then again the author was writing with young children in mind, so to use to much 17th century language might have lost the intended audience.


Awards/Reviews:
Newbery Medal Winner

"Strong plot, fully realized characters, and convincing atmosphere distinguish this historical narrative."

" Rarely has a book taken us back into seventeenth-century life as this does."

Connections:
I believe I will try the connect the past to the future. Our 5th graders study colonial life and if I introduce the characters then pose "How would Kit, Mercy, and Judith handle" (of course I'm watching Dancing with the Stars, so wouldn't that be a could proposal). We'll see how it goes.