Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Tagged: ,

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • March 17, 2015 at 12:51 pm
    kellywright006
    Participant

    So, I am concerned that this book is about witches and witchcraft? If I just SAW this title, I would NEVER let my kids read it. We are part of a Christian Homeschool group and this is on the literature book club reading list. (GULP)? Then upon further research, I saw this book was recommended reading on many living book type curriculum lists. Please give me the low-down, on if this book is about witches and witchcraft? Have you read it? Thought I would ask my expert friends out there……I searched all over the internet, and must not have a great go-to about literature, bc I didn’t get my questions answered!

    Thanks

    March 17, 2015 at 1:20 pm
    RobinP
    Participant

    I’ve read it an enjoyed it very much.  It is historical fiction revolving around the Salem witch trials not witchcraft at all.  Another title in this vein is the Landmark title, The Witchcraft of Salem Village.

    March 17, 2015 at 1:32 pm
    Angela
    Participant

    i just saw your post and HAD to comment as I knew I had written about this book on an old blog post (2006, to be exact.) I’ve copied and pasted below… (two blog posts actually)

    ********POST ONE*****
    Recently this title was brought up on [name] email lists. It was mentioned by a couple of people how they didn’t particularly care for the “romance” in the book. Because this book is on the [upper elementary/junior high] reading lists, meaning my DD would be suggested to read it (and soon, since we were coming up to that particular week of study) this caused a flag to go up for me, setting me forth to read this book.

    Well, I *just* finished the book and LOVED IT!!! IMO, what romance there was in this book was actually quite innocent (ESPECIALLY by today’s standards) and was quite appropriate for the setting of the book and age of the characters. This so-called romance, IMO, wasn’t even actual courtship, as it is nowadays… but merely some home-visits by the young man, coming to call on the young lady. Needless to say, at least for our household, this so-called romance is a non-issue in this book.

    The wonderful details offered in this text painted beautiful pictures in my mind of the home, the town, the boats, the people. The power of friendship was strong in this book. The heroine does find herself quite caught up in troubles because of it. The matter of disobedience is something that is addressed in the text, and will certainly be a point of discussion in our own home (LOL.)

    Anyway, I’m going to have my 9yo  daughter start reading this book, probably today, in fact. I found some nice background info in a PDF

    http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/witch_of_blackbird_pond.pdf

    on the author as well as questions on the book to use as discussion points that we’ll be using. (I copied many of the questions to a simple text file to just have on hand throughout the book.)

     

    Additionally, there is a free cyberguide (Word .doc format) for this book http://pirate.shu.edu/%7Edevlinrb/Witch%20of%20Blackbird%20Pond.doc

    that offers some really nice links that would work well not only with this book, but also for overall lessons/studies of this time period. (Neither of these are necessary, however!!)

    Had this topic NOT been brought up on the email list, for the good or bad, I might not have read this book myself. I’m so glad I did and look forward to the upcoming discussions with my daughter. If I had not read it myself I’d have just asked for chapter narrations (which I’ll still do.) What a great book to bring our current history topics “to life”… how the people of that area/time lived day to day, the troubles they faced, their religious beliefs, etc. DD loves when books “take her to a place” and I hope she likes this book as much as I did. I’ll have to wait and see.

     

    ***POST TWO***
    Okay so after all that  [previous post], with me stealing snippets of time to get the book read to make sure it was appropriate for my 9yo…

    My daughter already has the darn thing finished!!!

    Yes, really!  I read a chapter out loud to her yesterday afternoon to get her going  and she read some a yesterday evening. She didn’t feel good today so took some time to relax on her bed and read as well.

    This afternoon, I go to her room to get her moving so I can take her to photography club and I see the book lying over the bed frame at the edge of her bed. I commented on it, saying something  about that isn’t the proper way to care for a book. She replies with a, “Sorry but I couldn’t find a bookmark and didn’t want to lose my spot.”

    So I glance over again and see (and say) that the book isn’t even as far along as she was in it! And I pick up the book and it’s marked for very early in the book. She says, “That’s because I’m reading it again, Mom.”

    HUH???  I question her (secretly thinking that maybe she turned out and didn’t like the book and just read the ending or something.)  She proceeds to narrate the entire story back to me, detailing certain things that happen to some of the main characters. She also answers a few questions I throw out (thinking maybe she just, I don’t know… figured the book out or something by reading the back cover???)  NOPE. She read the whole book. Didn’t take her very long at all. She *got* it, made connections I’d wondered if she’d “see”, etc.  She gave this book a rating of FIVE STARS.

    ***Back to current now…

    Truly, I personally cannot recall the book. I admit that. But, I do know this was truly a favorite of hers at the time. One that even now, at age 17.5, she still keeps on her “I love these books and will keep them forever” shelf (which happens to also hold a giant book of Shakespeare’s works, and a variety of classics she’s read through the years.) Not all of the books she’s read over her life of homeschooling has had a fate of being a keeper, but this one did.

     

    I don’t tend to read summaries of books. Nor do I often click over to wikipedia, however, this may be just the thing for you.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witch_of_Blackbird_Pond

    March 18, 2015 at 5:26 am
    Melanie32
    Participant

    We really enjoyed The Witch of Blackbird Pond. It’s not about real witchcraft at all. It’s about the paranoia at that time in history concerning witchcraft. The young lady who is the main character has been raised differently than the locals. She is new to the area and was raised on a tropical island by her father.

    This being so, she is unaware of all the unwritten rules of her new home and unwittingly breaks many of them. As a result, she is suspected of witchcraft.

    That’s enough to give you the general gist of the book. 🙂

    March 18, 2015 at 3:51 pm
    Benita
    Participant

    A wonderful book being enjoyed as a read aloud the second time around in our home. My oldest children remember it from years ago and couldn’t wait to have it read again.  A well written story.  No fears.  It is a great piece of historical fiction, much more about relationships and understanding differences.

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • The topic ‘Witch of Blackbird Pond?’ is closed to new replies.