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    The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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    The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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    The Witch of Blackbird Pond
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Witch of Blackbird Pond

    Written by Elizabeth George Speare

    Narrated by Mary Beth Hurt

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Kit Tyler must leave behind shimmering Caribbean islands to join the stern Puritan community of her relatives. She soon feels caged, until she meets the old woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond. But when their friendship is discovered, Kit herself is accused of witchcraft!


    From the Trade Paperback edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 23, 2002
    ISBN9780807207505
    Author

    Elizabeth George Speare

    ""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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    Reviews for The Witch of Blackbird Pond

    4/5

    1,843 ratings82 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Oh my, what a wonderful book that has stood through the ages. It was written in 1958 I believe. I knew the book was set in New England in the 1600's but didn't realize what a wonderful love story it was set amid the witch trials. Love for family, love for the elderly and love relationsips between female and male. "Watching" the politics, religious beliefs and the Puritan way of life unfold was amazing. A book for all.
    • 3/5
      Ds and I found two specific examples, but now I cannot recall what they were to share them. They don't make a difference in the story, but a reader shouldn't take the story as factual either. The book is a good story for younger kids to sort of get an idea of what two lifestyles were like: Barbados compared to Connecticut. The laws trying to be changed by the English king and the "rebellion" of the colonists. My ds says it was a little "lovey dovey" and didn't care for that much.
      Kit's grandfather dies in debt and though an older man proposes to Kit, she'd rather face the unknown in a new world with her mother's sister's family, whom she's never met.
      On the voyage to America she is somewhat warned about the differences in Connecticut. She notices the obvious differences immediately; dress style, and what freedoms are allowed or not allowed. She thinks she's adapting well enough until her elderly Quaker friend is accused of being a witch and a witch hunt is on the way to her friend's house!
    • 5/5
      It's dawned on me that there are probably some "classic" children's books that I haven't yet read, and while poring through the lists I stumbled upon this one which indeed, somehow, I missed.

      Loved it! It had everything I could possibly want in a book. Compelling plot, not too dark, not too light, great protagonist, especially well-drawn secondary characters (there are many, many of them, and they each had a distinctive personality--it was such a pleasure to read this book, when so many novels these days seem to differentiate their characters by name and quirk rather than actually render a rounded description).

      I was feeling high 4 stars through most of it, but burst into tears at the end so it gets kicked up to 5. Nicely done, book.

      (Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
    • 4/5
      On my daughter's school reading list, I picked this up and really enjoyed. Quick read. Now it is a favorite.
    • 5/5
      Excellent! One of my favorite classics. This book seems so real; the characters are intricately woven into the story to create a tale to remember. The ethereal qualities are mixed with the shockingly realistic truths of the time period and I've always felt like it was a great classic to introduce at a fairly young age and re-introduce several times throughout the life span. There are new things to learn and understand during different times in your life.
    • 5/5
      A beautiful story of early life in New England. Coming of age, as a female in the late 1700 century. Kit was born in Barbados, where she is raised by her grandfather. After his death she sails to Wethersfield, Connecticut to live with her mothers sister and her family, who are Puritans. There she learns many things about life and finding herself and her place in it.
    • 5/5
      Just finished this (again) with my kids(boy12, boy9, and girl6). A wonderful look at Puritan society in CT in the late 1600's. I was surprised even my soon-to-be 13yo boy begged for more chapters at each reading. Compelling story, good plot twists, and satisfying ending. This book brought up some great discussions with my kids about why I teach them to work! As a mom, that's never a bad thing. This book makes a great family read aloud.
    • 5/5
      This was a quick read for me, but a very good book. I can't believe that I never read this when I was younger because it's just the type of book that I have always enjoyed. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
    • 5/5
      You want a book about history, acceptance, diversity, 17th century travel, the colonies in New England? This book has all of those things and a wonderfully told story to top it all off. I can't imagine anyone reading without imagining all of the locations clearly in their mind or putting themselves into the middle of the events as they take place. It is just too easy to fall in love with this story.As a traveler, I was especially drawn to the experiences of sailing to new places, meeting new people, and encountering the inevitable culture clash that comes from changing locations between great distances. Watching how the characters dealt with the changes that occurred because of these travels was really very inspiring in some ways. As an educator, I was relieved to see diversity in the 17th century handled in such a way that proved not everyone had blind hatred of what they didn't understand, yet even for those people the ending wasn't the perfectly happy storybook conclusion most books fall to. I can not sit here and claim that everything is historically accurate, since it isn't my area of expertise, but I can guarantee that it would be very hard for a young reader to resist being drawn into Katherine's world.
    • 4/5
      I read this when I was a child, and I still love it.
    • 3/5
      Katherine Tyler (Kit) is a 16 year old who lives in Conneticut in the 1600's. After a series of events, the townspeople begin to believe Kit is a witch. She swam, because she is originally from Barbados, and people find then perculiar. She acts out a scene from the bible and the town doesn't like that either. They come for her in the middle of the night, but a friend testifies for her and the town soon realizes she is not a witch. there are no pictures in the book except for the cover. I like books with covers to help the reader get the author's vision. This book is good for intermidate readers. It is too long and hard for beginners. I would recommend this book to kids who want to learn more about witch trials. However, I don't think it is completely realistic, which is why I didn't give it a 5 star rating. This was a chapter book which was also historical realistic fiction. The main idea was about standing up to power groups if you know what they are doing is wrong.
    • 4/5
      Re-read after *mumblemumble* years. I found that I'd retained almost nothing about this book, so it was just like reading it for the first time. The thing that struck me most forcefully is how entirely human, real, and well-rounded all of the characters (with the possible exception of Goodwife Cruff) were. The story was lovely, if a bit too pat, and the illustrations were beautiful.
    • 4/5
      This is shelved in the Juvenile Reading for the Seven to 12-year old set. The rating is a compromise between my adult and child selves. Even as an adult I did like it, although no doubt I read it through a nostalgic haze, but certainly as a child I loved it. I don't recommend reading it for the first time as an adult. It doesn't have the literary quality, imagination or whimsey that could charm even an adult reader first encountering children's books by Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Rudyard Kipling, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Wilder, Mark Twain or Jack London. This isn't a book of first rank in children's literature or historical fiction, but reading it reminded me why I did once love this.The book from the opening pages introduces us to sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler, who is traveling from her native island of Barbados to live with her aunt in Puritan New England. She's a bird of colorful plumage finding herself among crows, an outsider before she ever steps on the shores of 1687 Connecticut. As with another outsider, the Quaker Hannah Tupper, there are soon rumors Kit's a witch. One review complains Kit is basically a modern girl, and there's truth to that. But her outsider status does allow her to cast a plausibly critical eyes on her surroundings. We never see her Barbados, but Speare makes Kit's memories of her island home so vivid I remembered its description of turquoise skies and water and vivid greens so well I could have sworn part of the book was set there. And as a child this was one of my introductions to the fascinating world of historical fiction. The book's message, never heavy-handed, of tolerance still resonates today, and I ended my reread with a smile. So even though no, I wouldn't recommend this to adults as great historical fiction... Well, if you know a young girl who loves to read, this would be a great choice as a gift.
    • 4/5
      This is a Newberry Award Winner book that is about a young girl named Kit trying to fit in with the Puritan way of life. Kit is from Barbados and leaves to live with her Aunt Rachel and her family. When she arrives she comes with bright colors and trunks of cloths. She has to immediattly switch into a perfiect Puritan girl. The bad thing is that she is already been accused as a witch because she can swim. There is also a wealthy young man that likes here. She mights another person called Hannah Tupper that is also called a witch. They have to get through the wicth hunt together. This is a Newberry Honer book that everyone has to read. I normally don't like the 1600's and 1700's time for books but this one surprised me. I liked how if one person says one thing about another person it is true because they are a good Puritan person. I also like how kit finds out about snow. My favorite character was Nat Eaton because he can get mad and he can be nice. This is a very interesting book and I like how Elizabeth George Speare takes the time to make sure all the history is correct. This is a very good book that I am happy that I read.
    • 5/5
      This was my favourite book between third grade and sixth grade. I can't even describe what makes it so special but rereading it always brings me pleasure!
    • 1/5
      This book is about a girl from Barbados who moves to Connecticut. She went to go live with her aunt and uncle, but she didn't tell them because it was a surprise. People thought that she was a witch because she could swim and she wore bright clothes. Later she becomes friends with an old woman named Hannah Tupper, who is also thought to be a witch. Then she goes to trial for being a witch. She gets freed because a little girl shows the judge that she can read and write, and that she taught her. Later she sees Nat Eaton again, but he has a new ship named after her, The Witch.This was my least favorite book that I read this year. I didn't like it because it was very long and very boring. It received the Newberry Medal, but I don't see why. I have read better books that have not received the Newberry award. I think its weird how Hannah's house floods every year, but she just moves back in and cleans it out. She probably just moves uphill or something. I've read poor books before, but this one was beyond description.
    • 5/5
      Teenaged Kit Tyler has left the only home she has ever known in Barbados to sail to the Puritan colony of Connecticut. She plans to surprise her Aunt Rachel, who was always spoken well of in Kit's family, but whom Kit has never met. Kit is greeted with mixed emotions by her Aunt Rachel, her Uncle Matthew, and her cousins, Judith and Mercy. Kit's pampered, carefree life in Barbados has not prepared her for life among the stern Puritans. She finds a place of refuge with Hannah Tupper, an elderly, nearly blind woman who lives a solitary life in a meadow outside of town. Kit's friendship with Hannah has its own risks. Hannah doesn't share the Puritans' beliefs, and because of her differences she's been labeled by some as a witch. Meanwhile, Kit has attracted the interest of two very different young men. Will the wealthy young Puritan, William Ashby, win her heart? Or will she choose sailor Nat Eaton?I can't believe I went through my teenage years without reading this book. Somehow I missed the fact that it's historical fiction and I thought it was about the occult. The strong female characters are different enough that readers will have different favorites among them depending on the reader's personality. I felt the most affinity with Mercy, and I would count myself lucky to have her as a sister or a friend. There is food for thought for today's young women, particularly about friendship, dating, and life choices. The lessons never overshadow the story, though. It took me a while to unravel the romantic tangle. SPOILER: When it occurred to me to count the single men and single girls, I realized that they would all end up happily paired by the end of the book.Mary Beth Hurt has done an outstanding job with the audio version. If it's been a while since you've read the book (or even if it hasn't!), the audio version would be a great way to re-familiarize yourself with this YA classic.
    • 3/5
      I hadn't read this book as a child and I only read it now because it was in a box of books I bought. It was a good quick read, although very obvious as to how things would turn out and who would end up marrying who by story's end. Maybe if I had read it as a child, it wouldn't have been as apparent. But then, as a child, I would have wanted a book filled with more adventure and action. Probably a good book for a pre-teen. I gave it to my niece when I was done with it - I'm curious to see if she reads it and if she likes it. Ultimately for me, even though it was predictable, it was enjoyable in a quiet, comfortable way that I think too few contemporary books seem to be.
    • 5/5
      The book The witch of black bird pond, is about a girl named Kit who is forced to live with her aunt in the Connecticut colonies. Kit's parents died when she was a child in the book. So she went to live with her grand father Sir Charles in Barbados. When he passed, Kit was forced to marry a fifty year old man so she left to america. Kits aunt was puritan and during 1694 the witch trials were happening. and get got stuck right in the middle. This book is a good book it has an interesting story line. You will be stuck guessing whats going to happen next. I like this book because it doesn't stray away from the story. It has really good exciting moments during the book.
    • 5/5
      Genre: Historical fictionReview: This book is historical fiction because there are numerous occasions where true information is given about the Salem witch trials and the beginning of the United States. However, because this is not a true biography the story is then a historical fiction book. The author did a great job of creating a story that was easy to follow and based on historical events.Media: Watercolor, pencil
    • 4/5
      There are two main reasons I liked reading this book. First, the book is written in an older form of English to reflect the time period of America in the 1600's, which immediately makes this book stand out. The writing in this story transports the reader back in time, making the story feel more realistic and believable to imagine. For example, the author uses phrases and words that are commonly not used today to set the scene such as, "Puritan", "tis", "thee", "thou", "praise be", and many more. Second, I appreciated the complexity of characters in book, especially the main character Kit Tyler, with diverse personalities that add conflict, emotion, and drama to the story. In particular, Kit personality drives the story through her expressive and deep thoughts as highlighted through the story. This is highlighted throughout the book, and especially during her initial shock to Puritan life in the beginning of the story, and once again when she protects Hannah Tupper and is excused of also being a witch herself. In these scenes in particular, the complexity of Kit's character is shown, furthering the reader's interest in her and the story. Overall, as told through these characters' development, this story displays the message of how one should not make judgements of others and that justice will find its way despite all odds.
    • 5/5
      Media: NoneGenre: Historical FictionReview: This book is a great example of a historical fiction novel because it combines both history and fiction. The story of Kit and what she went through is completely fictional however, the history of accusing people of witchcraft and the puritan lifestyle is accurately portrayed. Because of where Kit grew up she is automatically an outcast but when she decides to befriend Hannah Tupper the entire town turns on her accusing her of witchcraft.
    • 5/5
      Kit traveld from Barbados to come to New England. Her parents died when she was young and her grandpa lost all his money. He decided to live with her aunt. When she got there Aunt Rachel, Uncle Matthew, Mercy, and Judith were all shocked. Her arrival was unexpected. She learned that she was not going to fit in to this new enviornment. Soon after a few sadining events, she goes to the meadows and meats "Witch" Hannah Tupper.I was really reluctaint to reading this book. I thought that this book was silly and that only girls would want to read it. My teacher made the whole class read it. I soon realized that i really enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book to drama fans. This book shows who dogmatic Americans can be. It shows their real charcater.
    • 4/5
      This book is about the time in Wethersfield, 1687. A young woman in Barbados named Kit will travel to this new place to live with her relatives. Although the new change was not easy for her. The people in Wethersfield thought that she was a witch at the beginning. She will have to make new to order to fit in. Kit will also have to go through great challenges through the new journey. She just meet the witch of Blackbird Pond. This book is about the time in Wethersfield, 1687. A young woman in Barbados named Kit will travel to this new place to live with her relatives. Although the new change was not easy for her. The people in Wethersfield thought that she was a witch at the beginning. She will have to make new to order to fit in. Kit will also have to go through great challenges through the new journey. She just meet the witch of Blackbird Pond.
    • 4/5
      A beautiful story with interesting characters.
    • 4/5
      One of my favorite books as a child. I still enjoy the story and reading about facing challenges and how to overcome.
    • 4/5
      This book probably began my lifelong infatuation with historical fiction.
    • 4/5
      One of my all time favorites from my YA years. Still reread it every now and then because I love Kit, the heroine.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful and powerful! I was taken aback by the story and characters!
    • 3/5
      i must admit that i give it only a 3 cause it was one of the books i had to teach when i was an English teacher in my former life and just got really tired of it; should probably re read it to be fair but i won't :)