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Book Reviews of The Witch of BlackBird Pond

The Witch of BlackBird Pond
The Witch of BlackBird Pond
Author: Elizabeth George Speare
ISBN-13: 9781530336647
ISBN-10: 1530336643
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Pages: 130
Rating:
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0 stars, based on 0 rating
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

42 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

Mistry avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 105 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 12
This classic is just as wonderful as it was the first time I read it as a teenager. The colorful characters, the honesty in which life in 17th Century New England is written, brought back all the memories which made this a favorite book of mine. I think I was also able to read more into it as an adult, as well. Not just the story, but between the lines, the hardships of life back then, the sharp differences in religion and loyalty to home and family. How friendships come about and thrive when you stand up for what you believe in, no matter the cost. This is a keeper for me. I hope someday my daughter will love this book as much as I do.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 24 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Ms. Speare does a wonderful job with this book. There is a very strong plot with convincing characters. The story of a girl whose rebellion against bigotry and her Puritan surroundings explode in a witch hunt and trail.
mutts4me avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 93 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Good read showing what prejudices existed in the late 1600's puritian communities. While I think the book was written to the lighter side of "fitting-in" the treatment of Hannah was most likely a very real thing during that time period as well as mean spirited. The book ends with all being happy (except the real mean woman), which I always like, but may not have been real for the times.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 155 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I loved this book! I couldn't put it down once I started it!

IT WON A JOHN NEWBERRY MEDAL TOO!
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
A CLASSIC. wonderful book.
pindari avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 38 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
As this is such a well-known book, it's hard to write anything original. This is required reading in many schools for good reason. Timeless in it's portrayal of "mob justice", it's also wonderful to read about this period of history. Suspenseful enough to keep me reading into the night, it's a great story for middle-schoolers to adult.
lillinda avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 175 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Historical novel of a girl who rebels against the ways of the Puritan family she goes to live with after her Grandfather dies.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 92 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
As an adult I still remember reading this book in Elementary school. Good read.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 1435 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Katherine Tyler (who prefers to be called Kit) finds herself in Connecticut seeking her aunt. Raised in Barbados where she lived a pampered life with her gentle grandfather, she finds life with the strict, religious Puritans quite different. Her beautiful clothes are only the first difference. When she plunges into the water to rescue a child's doll, she finds herself viewed with suspicion and wary looks. Later she learns that women do not swim. This is a test to determine a witch since innocent women sink.

Learning how to work as the Puritans do, she finds herself yearning for the sunny shores of Barbados. Her hands are blistered, there is no time to run free, no books to read other than the Bible and plays are forbidden. When she makes friends with a widowed woman who lives by Blackbird Lake labeled a witch, she finds herself accused as a witch by association and put on trial. When a frenzied mob searches for the widow, Kit helps her escape.

How Kit wishes she had never come to this frigid land where people are as frigid as the land. Can she survive? The author portrays the fears of the accused and the accusers alike for readers of this YA historical fiction story.
CozyLover avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 335 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book as a teenager and enjoyed it just as much now that I am an adult. A very good read.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is a brilliant Young Adult book, and a deserving winner of the Newberry Award for American Children's LIterature. Love, orphans, Puritans, Quakers and suspected witchcraft all make this a must-read.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of my top five favorite books. It's short, but excellent through and through. I first read it when I was 16, and thoroughly enjoyed it, and I have read it many times since. This is a short, easy-to-read book.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 5 more book reviews
I just read this again 25 years later, and it still struck me with the same passion I felt the last time. It's still a book I would recommend for a tween, but even though the issues are simplified, it really gives an idea of what life was like for puritans in New England. Viewed from another outsider, it makes us feel like we are really there. I highly recommend...
VeronicaNagy avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 48 more book reviews
Not at all what I expected but I really liked it.
bookwormhouse avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on
A must for any study of colonial America.
cloverluv avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 129 more book reviews
I always loved this book as a child...great read.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 21 more book reviews
I read this book so many times as a kid - I loved it.
twtandzorro avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on
This is my favorite book of all times!! I read it at least once a year.
Nichelle avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on
This book was read to my class when I was in 5th grade. I loved it so much that I later read it myself. I kept a copy clear through high school. It has been many years since I have read it, but the story is one that I have never forgotten. It's a great book for young readers. I think 11-14 is the best age range for this book.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 4 more book reviews
This is a great story. I'd put it right up there with Caddie Woodlawn, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Summer of the Monkeys, and all of the other books one should read at young ages.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 69 more book reviews
I read this back in grade school,excellent book.
WendyN avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 54 more book reviews
Prisoner in ta house of Strangers :
The sunshine and laughter of childhood seemed centuries and worlds away as Kit Tayler viewed the forbidding New England coast. The lovely young woman had been raised amid luxury in th eCaribbean, but now she was an orphan , unloved and alone, dependent on relatives she had never seen.
Awaiting her in the bleak dwelling that was her new home were suspicions and loneliness. The master of the house despised everything about her. The man, who chaimed he loved her, abandoned her to the circle of teror. And ther was nowhere to turn, no way to escape the evil claiming her as victim...
"COMPELING"
"OUTSTANDING"
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 337 more book reviews
Classic story - historical fiction. My 11 year old son and I read it aloud to each other.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 14 more book reviews
Wonderful book to read and learn!
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 2 more book reviews
This is a wonderful story that tells you the way things really were in Colonial America.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 3352 more book reviews
Award winning classic.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 4 more book reviews
This is a wonderful book! I couldn't put it down when I first got my hands on it!
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 14 more book reviews
Sonlight 3
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 14 more book reviews
This is a wonderful book. It is a well written story of some of the first settlements in New England. Although fictitious, the author makes you feel like you are there. Although it was required reading in high school, I am reading this with my elementry aged children. Very enjoyable book!
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 216 more book reviews
One of my childhood favorites
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 18 more book reviews
The sunshine and laughter of childhood seemed canturies and worlds away as Kit Tyler viewed the forbidding New England coast. The lovely young woman had been raised amid luxury in the Caribbean, but now she was an orphan, unloved and alone, dependent on relatives she had never seen.
Awaiting her in the bleak dwelling that was her new home were suspicions and loneliness. The master of the house despised everything about her. The man, who claimed he loved her, abandoned her to the circle of terror. And there was nowhere to turn, no one to help, no way to escape the evil claiming her as victim...
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 17 more book reviews
Great book for 5th grade and up. Deals with issues of Colonial American. What life was like for young women and widow women of different faiths. Great book for discussion.
SouthernChelz avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 216 more book reviews
I recommend this book to all who have children! THis book is an excellent addition to any library.

Set in a time that was full of suspicion and lies. If you wanted to get rid of someone that you didn't like, just accuse them of being a witch! This book is a great read. It keeps your attention and makes you think about the way we as a society judge others because they seem to be a bit stranger than us!
constant-reader avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 130 more book reviews
Excellent novel about assumptions and tolerance. One of my favorites as a child.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 36 more book reviews
AThe sunshine and laughter of childhood seemed centuries adn worlds away as Kit Tyler viewed the forbidding New England coast. The lovley young woman had been raised amid luxury in the Caribbean, but now she was ann orphan, unloved adn alone, dependent on relatives she had never see.
Awaiting her in the bleak dwelling that was her new home were suspicions and loneliness. The master of the house despided everything about her. The man, who claimed to love her, abandoned her to the circle of terror. And there was nowhere to turn, no one to help, no way to escape the evil claiming her as victim...
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 18 more book reviews
EASY READ
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on
I don't remember a whole lot about this book because it was a book I read as a young teen. I know it must of been one of my favorites though because I only kept my favorite books from when I was a young teen in hopes that someday if I had a girl she would enjoy them too. Well, I've had two boys and am done in the kid department so any young girls who like to read around ages 10-16, I'd say, you will enjoy this book.
englishmaven avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 31 more book reviews
I read this book when I was in Junior High. I just loved it. I always loved historical fiction; this was one of my favorites. More students need to discover this great book.
robinmy avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 2038 more book reviews
Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler leaves her home in Barbados and takes a ship to the Colony of Connecticut to live with her aunt and uncle. When Kit arrives, she is surprised to find the family living in a small house, scraping by to make ends meet. Her puritan relatives take her in, but expect her to adhere to their way of life...including working day and night to keep a roof over their heads. Kit has a hard time fitting in and making friends. One friend she does make is Hannah Tupper, and old Quaker woman who lives alone and is thought by the colonists to be a witch.

I read this book in grade school and remember liking it. When I stumbled across it in a bookstore, I thought I'd revisit it. Kit starts out as impulsive young woman who has a hard time fitting into the regimental puritan lifestyle. As she gets to know her cousins and sees the things they go through, she starts to understand their way of life. But she doesn't understand their prejudice against Hannah. Befriending Hannah leads Kit into danger when the townspeople start looking at her with suspicion. My rating: 4.5 Stars.
reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 2 more book reviews
A historical love story, originally copyrighted in 1958 with over 200,000 hard copies sold by the Dell publishing date of 1971. This is a surprisingly good book, well-written, with characters that are believable and a story that draws you in and won't let go.
I am sorta picky about what I read and even pickier about what I like, but this one qualifies.
ravenfae619 avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 17 more book reviews
My daughter nor I never had the chance to read it.
BostonBooks avatar reviewed The Witch of BlackBird Pond on + 48 more book reviews
not the same cover, on cover is a lady. But its the same ISBN
The witch of Blackbird pond by Elizabeth George Speare.

Kit Tyler knew,as she gazed for the first time at the cold,bleak shores of Connecticute Colon, that her new home would never be like the shimmering Caribbean islands she left behind. She ws like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world. And in the stern puritan community of her relatives, she soon felt cage as well,and lonely. In the meadows, the only place where she could feel completely free,she meets another lone and mysterious figure,the old woman known as the Witch of blackbird pond. But when their friendship is discovered,Kit is faced with suspicion,fear and anger. she herself is accused of witchcraft.