The Witch of Blackbird Pond

I first read this book as a kid, and it’s one of the reasons I became an avid reader. It's set in Puritan New England and features romance, intrigue, and suspense. It has great historical detail, a fun story, and well-written characters.

The protagonist, 16-year-old Kit from Barbados, arrives in the harsh world of early colonial Connecticut and doesn’t fit in—and society punishes her for it! I found myself angry and outraged for her–I just wanted everything to be fair. This story is a light-handed look at how life isn’t fair. Frustration comes from expecting or demanding it to be.… show more.

I adored this book as a kid and decided to pick it up and re-read as an adult. I was not disappointed.

I loved it all over again and also gave myself a little pat on the back for having good book taste at a young age.

The witchcraft trial era of early colonial history in the US is so well crafted here with the accuracy of the historical details blended into the evocative setting.

Published in 1958 and a Newberry Medal winner in 1959, it is young adult but I think non-YA readers could easily enjoy it as a… show more.

My last recommendation veers from adult fiction into children’s. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, a Newbery Award-winning novel set in early colonial America, is a personal favorite and, with regards to its depiction of Puritanism, surprisingly nuanced. After the loss of her grandfather, Kit Tyler sails from Barbados to Connecticut to live with her aunt and quickly finds herself an object of suspicion. The love story between Kit and sailor Nat Eaton is intrinsic to the main story, with Nat acting as a bridge between Kit’s old life and her new one, helping her understand New Englanders’ unfamiliar beliefs… show more.

As a child, I loved books that transported me to a different time and place. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, winner of the Newbery Award in 1959, was one of the first and finest that did so. With her vivid characterization and details of setting and plot, Elizabeth George Speare sparked my interest in the history of witchcraft in New England, where I grew up. As a high school senior I even wrote a research paper on the topic, and eventually, I had the honor of writing the Dear America title about the Salem Witch Trials. The Witch of… show more.

I couldn’t make recommendations about historical novels without including The Witch of Blackbird Pond. For me, this story is the gold standard for “fish-out-of-water” historical fiction—and was the book that first had me falling in love with the genre. In the late-17th century, Kit has been living a life of luxury and relative freedom on an island in the Caribbean. When her grandfather dies, she’s forced to sail across the Atlantic to live with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Connecticut. But her new home among the Puritans proves to be restrictive, confusing, and harsh. Kit fights against… show more.

This is a Newbery winner that stands the test of time. Set in 1687, it tells the story of Kit Tyler, a pampered 16-year-old who moves to Connecticut from the Caribbean after her grandfather dies and discovers what Puritan life is really about: dressing plainly, deferring to men, hiding your intelligence and imagination, and going to church -- a lot. Any reader with a sense of independence will devour it. 

This is another oldie but goodie from 1958. The Young Adult genre is often overlooked, but I would recommend this Newbury Award Winner to the YA crowd as well as adults who love a strong historical novel of suspense tinged with romance. In 1687, sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler leaves gorgeous, sunny Barbados after her father dies, relocating to her uncle’s household in a small, bleak Puritan town in Connecticut. Lonely and ostracized by the stern villagers, Kit befriends a Quaker woman named Hannah, who is thought to be a witch. When a vicious neighbor accuses Kit of bewitching her child, Kit… show more.