The Witch of Blackbird Pond........A Bewitching Tale

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare is a captivating story about a young girl named Katherine Tyler, called Kit, who travels from the warm, sunny island of Barbados, the only home she has ever known, to the cold and harsh town of Saybrook in Connecticut. Other key characters include:

Aunt Rachel : Kit's aunt who has seen many hardships, but has still retained some of her girlishness

Uncle Matthew :Rachel's husband who is at first very cold toward Kit but eventually sees the goodness in her

Mercy : Kit's oldest cousin and Matthew and Rachel's daughter. She is the one who keeps Kit going those first few weeks. She silently watches as her sister goes after the one man she will ever love.

Judith : Kit's other cousin. She is jealous of the pretty things Kit has had all her life and makes life very trying for Kit. Sets her sights on John Holbrook after her beau falls for Kit.

John Holbrook : a young scholar. He is torn between what he has known all his life and what he hears. He loves Mercy with all his heart but confusion and meekness on his part get him engaged to Judith until he finally learns what it means to be a man.

Nathaniel Eaton : the captain's son. He teases Kit unmercifully while they are together, but realizes his love for her when they are apart.

William Ashby : a prosperous land owner's sons. He seemed to have attached himself to Judith, but with Kit's arrival that all changed. Luckily, by the end he realized who was really his match.

Hannah Tupper : the Quaker widow who lived beside Blackbird Pond. She was shunned by the members of the community and called a witch. She comforted Kit in her times of need with blueberry pie and a kitten.

Prudence Cruff : a small child whose mother sets out to destroy Kit and the Widow Tupper. Kit teaches her how to read and Prudence returns the favor.

The book tells the tale not only of Kit's journey to the New World and her struggles there, but of how she gradually goes from a pampered and rather spoiled girl to a hard-working, unselfish woman.

Throughout the story each character is faced with trials of their own to overcome and sometimes arguments and misunderstandings occur, but it all works out in the end. Everything falls into place neatly.

The plot of this story is relatively easy to follow, yet not redundant. You feel as if you were inside the story, crying with Kit in the field or laughing with Judith at the Husking Bee. This is a book that is hard to put down.

Elizabeth George Speare stayed true to the time period in this book. She managed to include many historical facts in with the story almost without you knowing it. The plot has a wonderful amount of depth and sincerity to it that is hard to find in these times.

My favorite part of this book is when Kit and Nate are lying on the Widow Tupper's roof after they have finished thatching it. That is where I feel they really begin to understand each other and become friends.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was hooked on the first page. There is no way you can pick up this book and put it down without finishing. I would recommend this book to everyone. It is an exceptional piece of literature.

Other books by Elizabeth George Speare include:

The Sign of the Beaver
Calico Captive
Bronze Bow