The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Reviewed by KarenRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
1959 Newbery Medal Winner
Ratings Explanation
Language: Only one use of a mild swear word
Violence: There is a mob scene where many townsfolk go on a “witch hunt” looking for Hannah (the supposed Witch of Blackbird Pond). Hannah’s house is burned down. Nat is caught doing a mischievous act of vandalism and spends three hours in the stocks.
Adult Themes: There is the underlying theme of witch hunts during the Puritan, New England late 17th century. Fears run rampant due to disease and Indian raids. Neighbors accuse each other of being witches and causing these misfortunes.
Synopsis
Kit Tyler was raised for the first sixteen years of her life in luxury on the beautiful island of Barbados. But after her grandfather dies, Kit moves to Connecticut to seek out her only living relatives. She arrives in the spring of 1687 to an austere world. Her aunt, uncle and cousins live in a strict, hard-working Puritan society, and Kit is expected to conform. Kit feels trapped and lonely in her new life until she meets an old, outcast Quaker woman, Hannah Tupper, the title character. Kit finds solace knowing she isn’t the only one who feels rejected from the Puritan society. She is torn between rebellion and conformity, and though forbidden to visit Hannah, Kit persists. She even helps an abused child find comfort there. When an epidemic causes the townspeople to go after Hannah for practicing witchcraft, Kit helps her escape. Then Kit becomes the object of her neighbors’ superstitious fears. Kit is incarcerated and tried for being a witch, but is proven innocent by those she has been a friend to. During the story, Kit examines her heart and chooses between two young men.
I’ve had a copy of this book since I was eleven. (How many times has my husband moved it?—Sorry, honey!) I remember loving it then, and have enjoyed reading it again. My fifth grade daughter read it, too, and liked it.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond was the 1959 Newberry Medal Winner. Elizabeth George Speare is a talented author. She gives the historical, political, cultural and religious beliefs of the time and place without offensive content.