As children around the country prepare to head back to school and studies, one book that almost always appears on reading lists for middle school students is The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Students in schools like Winship Middle School in Eureka, Parsons Junior High School in Redding, and Gray Avenue Middle School in Yuba City may very well be reading this 1959 Newbery Award winner that tells the story of Katherine (Kit) Tyler and her arrival to live with relatives in 17th-century New England.
Book Info
Title: The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Author: Elizabeth George Speare
Publisher: originally; Houghton (1958)
ISBN: 978-0547550299
Author Elizabeth George Speare is listed as one of America's top 100 children's authors and she is also the winner of two Newbery Awards; one for The Witch of Blackbird Pond and one for The Bronze Bow (1962). Her books have won several other awards as well.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond is the story of Kit Tyler and one year in her life as she arrives in Connecticut Colony from Barbados in the spring in the late 17th century. She left Barbados after her grandfather, who was caring for her, died; she then arrived in Wethersford with the hope of living with her aunt and her family. Kit is unlike her cousins, Judith and Mercy, and it isn't long before Kit gets into situations she would never have experienced in Barbados. She develops a close relationship with an outcast, Hannah, who the rest of the town believes is a witch.
It is easy to understand why this book was chosen as a Newbery Medal winner and why it still remains on the reading lists of middle schoolers around the Bay area and the rest of the country. It tells the history of America's beginning, when witches were believed to roam freely and when colonists were beginning to realize that England's control was something they wanted to escape. It also tells the age-old story of a teenager discovering some of the uglier sides of society and just where her place in that society is.
Kit is a character both boys and girls can relate to as she maneuvers new relationships and standing up for what she believes in. The historical aspect of the story is one that grows ever more distant to current generations, but it is one of permanent importance. It is the story of seeking a better life, fighting for what's right, and learning to work together despite differences that makes this book worthy of its Newbery Medal. Even though many tweens and teens around northern California will be reading this book soon, their parents may want to read it when the kids get finished; it's that good.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond can be purchased online from Biblio.com, Amazon, and Powell's. It may also be purchased at both new and used bookstores like these in northern California.
Bay Books Concord
1669 Willow Pass Rd.
Concord
925-671-2245
Bird & Beckett Books & Records
653 Chenery St.
San Francisco
415-586-3733
Gray Wolf Books
14595 E. 14th St.
San Leandro
510-483-4163
