Module 4: The Witch of Blackbird Pond

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Summary:
Katherine Tyler was a young teenager that recently lost her grandfather (and her parents as well due to a tragic accident) and all his assets due to a workers bad business choices.  She leaves her hometown in Barbados to seek her aunt and uncle and to avoid marrying a very old man, who wanted to save everything she had with her grandfather.  Her grandfather had many servants, Kit learned how to read which during that time is very uncommon, and she learned how to swim.  Kit arrives with her aunt, uncle, and cousins and is not fully accepted there.  Later becoming friends with Hannah Tupper, the witch from Blackbird Pond, Kit encounters many misfortunes by the friendship and her own unique personality and upbringing.  A love triangle with her cousins Mercy and Judith also brings encounters all of them can't help to avoid.  Kit even goes on trial for witchcraft towards the end of the story.

Reviews:
Gr. 6-8. Hurt masterfully read this Newbery award winner, set in seventeenth-century Puritan New England.  Orphan Kit Tyler sails to the Connecticut colony to live with her aunt and uncle, but despite earnest attempts to belong, her behavior is unacceptable by Puritan standards.  Criticized by the community, Kit seeks solace with a kindly old Quaker woman.  Hurt's youthful voice and soft New England accent perfectly match Kit's buoyant personality and well-meaning antics.  Hurt's perception of the story enables her to shift seamlessly among characters, and she ably portrays everyone, including Kit's soft-spoken aunt and her terse, unforgiving uncle.  The villager's talk of heresy is thick with suspicion, and Hurt's capable reading accentuates this sense of foreboding.

Rich, A.  (2002, November 1).  The witch of Blackbird Pond.  [Review of the book The witch of Blackbird Pond, by E. Speare].  Booklist, 99(5), 518.  Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com 

Impressions:

I can see young girls reading this book and would enjoy the story, especially the love situation the girls encounter.  I was impressed by the way Kit showed her courage for everyone she cared about and put herself to one side and even in danger.  Not many girls had that kind of courage during those times.  I was also intrigued by the way the trial changed all the scenarios to make it seem like she was actually doing witchcraft.  I am glad that at the end Kit found peace.  

Suggestions:

This would be great to invite the debate teacher into the lesson and provide a list of topics to create a trial during the library visit.  Students are divided into groups and have an accuser, the accused, and the two lawyers.  This experience will help them know what the main character went through when she had to go through trial and fight for her freedom.

Bibliography:

George Speare, E. (1958).  The witch of Blackbird Pond.  New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.