A Review of 'The Witch of Blackbird Pond' by Elizabeth George Speare

"Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind.  In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely.  The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat.  But when Kit's friendship with the 'witch' is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger.  She herself is accused of witchcraft!"

I liked this book, but the fifth grade girls I read this book with did not.  I think they're planning a bonfire.

They didn't like this book because it was very slow-moving.  They were used to reading books where the characters would take physical action to get into trouble and also to solve their problems.  But this book has to do with actions via words and character development.  This is right up my alley.

I haven't read too many books about the colonial U.S., so this was kind of a treat for me.  I thought it would be cool because the kids were learning about the Revolutionary War and the time surrounding it in their social studies class.  I also thought it was cool that it was about a girl around this time period.  You don't hear a lot about the women of this time and even less about the children.  It's neat to get a whole new perspective on what the time period was like.  Kit was a good main character because everything was as new to her as it was to the person reading it.  This helps highlight how religious this society is and highlights how strict the people are about tradition and about their beliefs.  I liked Kit very much for not only these reasons, but also because she takes risks for people.  She teaches a young girl to read and befriends an outcast.  Against society's wishes too.  It doesn't sound like much, but it takes guts to do those things, especially when it's forbidden for you to do these things.

I'm not sure that I'd read this book again, but I'm glad that I read it this time.

I give 'The Witch of Blackbird Pond':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude