The Witch of Blackbird Pond: A Newbery Award Winner

Elizabeth George Speare

Dec 1958 · Sold by HarperCollins

4.5

207 reviews

Ebook

272

Pages

Eligible

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About this ebook

Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit’s friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty.

Elizabeth George Speare won the 1959 Newbery Medal for this portrayal of a heroine whom readers will admire for her unwavering sense of truth as well as her infinite capacity to love.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

207 reviews

Jenn Stewart

April 7, 2016

I didn't really fit in at school. I was pretty headstrong and in my family, that was encouraged, and so was reading obsessively. Niether were 'cool' in my peers nor in our hometown. When I picked up this book, I had no idea how old it was nor it's importance to American literature. I credit it for telling me that Hermione Granger wasn't the only strong heroine in books.

1 person found this review helpful

Emilie Paasch

May 27, 2014

I didn't really like the book because it was kinda going all over the place and spoiler alert she isn't accused if being a witch until chapter 18. And the book isn't really all that exciting. I did have to do it for school but I guess it was an OK book. Please do not hate on me because of my review that is just my opinion on the book. So just read it for yourself and see what you think of it.

9 people found this review helpful

David Compton

September 5, 2014

As a child in elementary school I was supposed to read this book and give a report on it during library time. I didn't read the book and faked the report, unsuccessfully I might add, lol. Now years later I've finally read the book after much thought of it over the years and I absolutely loved it. Wish I would have read it alot sooner.

5 people found this review helpful

About the author

"I was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, on November 21, 1908. I have lived all my life in New England, and though I love to travel I can't imagine ever calling any other place on earth home. Since I can't remember a time when I didn't intend to write, it is hard to explain why I took so long getting around to it in earnest. But the years seemed to go by very quickly. In 1936 I married Alden Speare and came to Connecticut. Not till both children were in junior high did I find time at last to sit down quietly with a pencil and paper. I turned naturally to the things which had filled my days and thoughts and began to write magazine articles about family living. Then one day I stumbled on a true story from New England history with a character who seemed to me an ideal heroine. Though I had my first historical novel almost by accident it soon proved to be an absorbing hobby." Elizabeth George Speare (1908-1994) won the 1959 Newbery Medal for THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND, and the 1962 Newbery Medal for THE BRONZE BOW. She also received a Newbery Honor Award in 1983, and in 1989 she was presented with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her substantial and enduring contribution to children’s literature.

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