Khoury, Lorees 

Book Prompt #1 

English , Period 3

October 31, 2016

The Witch of Blackbird Pond 

Elizabeth George Speare 

Historical Fiction

249 pages 

Newbery Award 

 

  

  

  The Witch of Blackbird Pond is about a sixteen year old named Katherine (Kit) Tyler. Kit is from Barbados, living with her grandfather Sir Frances Tyler, now that her grandfather had died and had been arranged to marry and old man Kit travels to Wethersfield to live with her aunt Rachel Wood and her uncle Matthew Wood. They have two girls Kits cousins, Mercy, a cripple, and Judith Wood. Kit meets Nathaniel (Nat) Eaton the captains son on the ship ride, but she befriends his mother more rather than him. Kit found Wethersfield boring and dull the endless church sermons. Of course made Kit’s stay there even more worse than it already was the work was enough to deal with. Kit later helps Mercy by teaching the Dame School with her, Kit trying to do something new toys to have the kids act out one of the stories from the bible. Everything goes wrong when one of boys start to literally beat up the other. Mr. Kimberley comes in an angry at what he saw and let Kit go from her job. Kit was crying because she thought she had let down and disappointed Mercy. That is when Kit runs off to the Meadows, where she meets and befriends Hannah Tupper an old women who has been accused of witchcraft in the past and is a Quaker. Kit finally got her job back at the Dame School by gathering courage to talk to Mr.Kimberley. Kit had also befriended a girl named Prudence, a tiny girl who’s being abused by her mother. Kit later introduced her to Hannah and Nat, who was has befriended Hannah since he was eight, and gave her one on one lessons. Judith sets her eye on John Holbrook an student of Gersholm Bulkeley and who is in love with Mercy. Kit is being fancied by William Ashby a rich young man, already building a house for him and his future wife. A plague falls over Wethersfield causing children to get very sick with already three deaths. The town people blame Hannah and Kit of witchcraft, when Kit hears that they’re going after Hannah she escapes to the Meadows to help her escape. Hannah escaped with Nat on father’s boat the Dolphin. Kit however went to trial. Before it was proven guilty Prudence came with Nat. Prudence had evidence that Kit was not guilty and it worked. Prudence finally will get the treatment she deserves from her father. Mercy and John get married, as did Judith to William. Nat asks Kit to marry him which is the only way he wants to get her on his new boat The Witch


  I really enjoyed this book. I’ve always loved history especially American, the only fiction about it was the characters, not all though. This showed loyal friendship and how far a person is willing to go just for the friend. In the book Hannah was the only who ever asked about Kit’s grandfather and it meant so much to her. Kit willing to teach a abused girl who doubted her self mentally. How she saved Hannah escape with Nat and stayed behind even though Nat told to her come. That kind of friendship is hard to come by which is why I really enjoyed this book. How Judith liked John but ended up with William which is a better match and John being with Mercy. What I didn’t like about this book was the ending, it just leaves off Kit and Nat going Kit’s uncle house to ask permission for his blessing. I would recommend this book to those who like history, if you don’t then this book wouldn’t be, one you’d be interested in.