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A Newbery Award Winner – A Halloween Book for Teens
by Elizabeth George Speare
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.
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/30/2025)
Im just finishing up A Resistance of Witches :mage: :mage: :woman_mage: by Morgan Ryan and Shelley's Frankenstein :ogre: today. Will start The Reformatory :jack_o_lantern: by Tananarive Due and The possession of Alba Díaz :ghost: by Isabel Cañas tonight. Last week I read the Buffalo :bison: Hunte...
-Jo_S
"The book has a lively plot and excellent characterizations. The background has every dimension of reality." —New York Times
"Strong plot, fully realized characters, and convincing atmosphere distinguish this historical narrative." —Booklist
"Kit's vindication, her gradual integration into the community and the positive effect she has on those about her, combine here in a well documented novel." —Kirkus Reviews
This information about The Witch of Blackbird Pond was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Elizabeth George Speare (1908-1994) won the 1959 Newbery Medal for The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and the 1962 Newbery Medal for The Bronze Bow. She also received a Newbery Honor Award in 1983, and in 1989 she was presented with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her substantial and enduring contribution to children's literature.
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