1. THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND
BY: ELIZABETH GEORGE SPEARE
Mary Cate Mihalik
Reading- Miss Roche
Period 3
May 11, 2012

2. ELIZABETH GEORGE SPEARE: BIOGRAPHY
 Elizabeth George Speare was born on November
21, 1908, in Melrose, Massachusetts. She was
married and had two children before she ever
wrote her first book. Writing historical novels
happened by accident, but it soon became a
hobby for her. In 1959 Elizabeth won the Newbery
Medal for The Witch of Blackbird Pond. In 1962
she won the 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 contribution to
children’s literature. Elizabeth died on November
15, 1994.
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7549.Elizabeth_George_Speare

3. SUMMARY
 The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a story about a sixteen-year-old
girl named Katherine Tyler (Kit) who sails on a ship called the
Dolphin from her home in the Caribbean Islands to Connecticut,
America. While Kit is in America, she lives with her Aunt Rachel
and Uncle Matthew Wood. Her aunt and uncle have two
daughters, Mercy, the oldest, and Judith. Mercy is crippled on one
leg from a terrible fever in her childhood, and Judith is a normal
sixteen-year-old girl. The story takes place in colonial times, when
people had just arrived in New England. In this time, people
believed in witchcraft, and anyone charged with witchcraft or
being a witch would be put on trial. If found guilty, they would kill
the person by burning them at the stake or hanging them. Kit
becomes friends with an old lady named Hannah Tupper, better
known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond. After a mysterious fever
spreads through the colonial town, Kit is charged with using
witchcraft herself!

4. CHARACTERS
 Main Characters:
 Katherine Tyler (Kit): main character, a pretty sixteen-year-old girl who moves from the Caribbean
Islands to Connecticut, lives with her aunt and uncle very generous, likes teaching children, has dark
hair and looks a lot like her deceased mother, cousin of Judith and Mercy Wood, niece of Rachel and
Matthew Wood, friend of Nat and Hannah Tupper
 Judith Wood: sixteen-year-old girl, cousin of Kit, daughter of Rachel and Matthew, younger sister of
Mercy, tries to be as friendly as she can to Kit, hardworking, thinks she is in love with John Holbrook but
really is in love with William Ashby
 Mercy Wood: about eighteen-year-old girl, cousin of Kit, older sister of Judith and daughter of Rachel
and Matthew, crippled on one leg, uses crutches, very patient, kind, friendly, and calm, enjoys teaching
the Dame School with the help of Kit, is secretly in love with John Holbrook
 Rachel Wood: Kit’s aunt, Judith and Mercy’s mother, wife of Matthew, hardworking, very compassionate
and kind
 Matthew Wood: Kit’s uncle, Judith and Mercy’s father, husband of Rachel, hardworking, a bit harsh,
stubborn, does what is best for his family
 Supporting Characters
 Nathaniel Eaton (Nat): son of the captain of the Dolphin, friend of Kit and Hannah’s, funny, loves the
Dolphin, loves the sea, kind, generous
 John Holbrook: pupil of Reverend Bulkeley, good friend of Kit, close to the Wood family, secretly in love
with Mercy, very kind, respectful, very religious
 William Ashby: young wealthy man, thinks he is in love with Kit when he is in love with Judith, kind, pays
attention to detail, has a younger brother
 Hannah Tupper: old lady who lives near Blackbird Pond, most people think she is a witch, known as
“The Witch of Blackbird Pond,” is a Quaker, friend of Kit and Nat, has many cats and goats, very kind
and generous, compassionate and understanding, talks to husband as if he was still alive

5. PLOT
 Introduction
 Meet Kit Tyler, Nathanial Eaton, and John Holbrook
 Arrive at Connecticut
 Meet the Wood family
 Setting: on the Dolphin and in Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1687
 Rising Action
 Kit doesn’t do a good job at helping the Wood family with household work and chores
 The Wood family, except Mercy because of her crippled leg, goes to a Sunday
Meeting
 Kit can barely endure the first, and refuses to go to the second, but goes anyway
 Meet Reverend Gershom Bulkeley and the Miss Ashby and William Ashby
 Thursday, William asks if he can court Kit (“court” is the old English word for “date”)
 William begins to court Kit
 Mercy asks Kit to help her teach the Dame School
 Kit meets Hannah Tupper, the Witch of Blackbird Pond, Kit and Hannah become
friends
 Kit regularly visits Hannah and finds out Nat is Hannah’s friend as well
 Matthew forbids Kit to visit Hannah, but Kit continues to visit her
 Kit begins to secretly teach Prudence, a little girl, how to read and write, and

6. PLOT CONTINUED
 Climax
 A strange fever spreads through Wethersfield, and Hannah is thought to have cast a
spell on the town
 Judith and Mercy get the fever
 Mobs of people begin to go to Hannah’s house to arrest/burn her
 Kit helps Hannah escape Wethersfield in the middle of the night, and Hannah is
taken away on the Dolphin
 After Hannah leaves, the mysterious fever leaves
 Kit is charged with witchcraft and put on trial
 Conclusion
 Nat and Prudence prove Kit innocent, and Kit is relieved of all charges against her
 Judith gets married to William Ashby, and Mercy gets married to John Holbrook
 Nat proposes to Kit

7. VOCABULARY
 Impulse- n. a psychic drive or instinctual urge. “She spoke
on sudden impulse.” Pg. 5
 Chagrin- n. a feeling of vexation, marked by disappointment
or humiliation. “Surprise and chagrin left Kit speechless.”
Pg. 45
 Incredulous- adj. indicating or showing unbelief. “Aunt
Rachel’s voice was incredulous.” Pg. 65
 Jubilant- adj. showing great joy, satisfaction, or triumph;
rejoicing; exultant. “Her jubilant feeling came suddenly to a
halt.” Pg. 140
 Sodden- adj. soaked with liquid or moisture; saturated. “…
did not even notice the sodden dress and hair under Kit’s
woolen cloak.” Pg. 194

8. STARRING ACTORS
Kit Tyler played by: Victoria
Justice

9. STARRING ACTORS
Judith Wood Mercy Wood played
played by: Chloe by: Meaghan Jette
Moretz Martin

10. STARRING ACTORS
Rachel Wood played Matthew Wood
by: Rachel Weisz played by: Josh
Hartnett

11. STARRING ACTORS
Hannah Tupper played
Nat played by: Chace
by: Dame Helen Mirren
Crawford

12. STARRING ACTORS
William Ashby played John Holbrook played
by: David Henry by: Alex Pettyfer

13. SOUNDTRACK
“Not Gonna Get Us” by t.A.T.u
This song would fit the scene when Kit goes to rescue
Hannah. Not gonna get us
They're not gonna get us
Not gonna get us
Not gonna get us
Not gonna get us
They're not gonna get us
They're not gonna get us
Not gonna get us
They're not gonna get us
Not gonna get us!
Starting from here, let's make a promise
You and me, let's just be honest
We're gonna run, nothing can stop us
Even the night that falls all around us

14. RATING
I gave The Witch of Blackbird Pond a
rating of
4 out of 5 stars
The book had an amazing story plot that always
made you want to read more. It also had great
characters with different personalities, but
because of the old English language used, it was
a bit hard to read the dialogue. It was also hard to
tell if Kit was thinking something or if think book
had somehow switched to first person.