The Witch of Blackbird Pond : A Newbery Award Winner

Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit’s friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty. Elizabeth George Speare won the 1959 Newbery Medal for this portrayal of a heroine whom readers will admire for her unwavering sense of truth as well as her infinite capacity to love.

kit Tyler Knew, As She Gazed For The First Time At The Cold, Bleak Shores Of Connecticut Colony, That Her New Home Would Never Be Like The Shimmering Caribbean Islands She Left Behind. In The Stern Puritan Community Of Her Relatives, She Soon Felt Caged 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 As She Herself Is Accused Of Witchcraft!

winner Of The Newbery Medal

school Library Journal

gr 5-8-mary Beth Hurt Gives An Excellent Performance In This Reading Of The Newbery Award-winning Novel By Elizabeth George Speare (hm, 1958). The Setting Is The Colony Of Connecticut In 1687 Amid The Political And Religious Conflicts Of That Day. Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler Unexpectedly Arrives At Her Aunt And Uncle's Doorstep And Is Unprepared For The New World Which Awaits Her. Having Been Raised By Her Grandfather In Barbados, She Doesn't Understand The Conflict Between Those Loyal To The King And Those Who Defend The Connecticut Charter. Unprepared For The Religious Intolerance And Rigidity Of The Puritan Community, She Is Constantly Astounding Her Aunt, Uncle, And Cousins With Her Dress, Behavior, And Ideas. She Takes Comfort In Her Secret Friendship With The Widow, Hannah Tupper, Who Has Been Expelled From Massachusetts Because She Is A Quaker And Suspected Of Being A Witch. When A Deathly Sickness Strikes The Village, First Hannah And Then Kit Are Accused Of Being Witches. Through These Conflicts And Experiences, Kit Comes To Know And Accept Herself. She Learns Not To Make Hasty Judgments About People, And That There Are Always Two Sides To Every Conflict. There Are Several Minor Plots As Well, Including Three Romances, Which Help To Bring This Time And Place To Life. Hurt's Use Of Vocal Inflection And Expression Make This An Excellent Choice For Listening Whether As An Enrichment To The Social Studies Curriculum Or Purely For Pleasure.-maureen Cash Moffet, St. Anne's Catholic School, Bristol, Va Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1867. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit’s friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty.
Elizabeth George Speare’s Newbery Award–winning novel portrays a heroine whom readers will admire for her unwavering sense of truth as well as her infinite capacity to love.

In 1687 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler, feeling out of place in the Puritan household of her aunt, befriends an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witchcraft.

"In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, a girl faces prejudice and accusations of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Connecticut. Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit's friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty." -- From Amazon Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft! 1959 Newbery Medal Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1867. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit's friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty. In 1687 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler, feeling out of place in the Puritan household of her aunt, befriends Hannah Tupper, an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witchcraft A young woman brought up in Barbados comes to live with her uncle in Connecticut, and finds their Puritan way of life difficult after her unconventional upbringing.