The Witch of Blackbird Pond

 Welcome to Tuesdays Treasures.  I started these posts as a way of sharing great books in honour of my friend in New Zealand who would arrive with the treasures she had unearthed at her weekly trip to the library!

There are so many wonderful books out there hiding on shelves so I invite you to blog about a book on your shelf, one you're reading or one you found at the library and add your post to Learning All the Time Favourite Resource Link Up. 



This week ...

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Laurel Leaf (May 15, 1978)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0440995779
ISBN-13: 978-0440995777
Sonlight: Core D

I kind of raised my eyebrows at this book when we first received it from Sonlight.  The word forbids us to have anything to do with witchcraft and here they send me a book with this title.  I felt a little bent out of shape over the title and after a little hesitation I choose to trust their choice and read the book outloud.  I am so pleased that I did as this book brings back many happy memories of reading out loud with my teens.  It's a sit on the edge of your seat in anticipation book, full of great illustrations of wrong perceptions and commited friendships.

Follow Kit Tyler, orphaned and on her way to live with her Aunt in Connecticut.  Kit's journey goes ary from day one when she dives over board to rescue a childs toy and rumours of her in the community begin. Feeling deeply out of place in the Puritan household of her Aunt she soon befriends another outcast who is considered a witch by most. Whereupon innocent acts soon find her on trial for witchcraft.

Many of the places in the novel are actual places in Old Wehtersfield, Connecticut.

Reviews:

• "The book has a lively plot and excellent characterizations. The background has every dimension of reality." The New York Times 
• "Rarely has a book taken us back into seventeenth-century life as this does." The New York Herald-Tribune
• "Strong plot, fully realized characters, and convincing atmosphere distinguish this historical narrative." Booklist, ALA 

Mc Graw Hill Education has an excellent site with a 22 page Study Guide (FREE) in PDF format for you to download.  Simply choose your state (there is an international option) choose to use as a student/parent and search other books.  Excellent site worth bookmarking.

This book is available from:  Book Depository UK, Book Depository COM, Amazon, Fishpond.

Blessings