Winner of the 1959 Newbery Medal, The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a work of historical fiction set in seventeenth century New England. The novel follows a year in the life of an orphan girl Kit, who moves from the English settlement in Barbados to the Puritan town of Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Summary of The Witch of Blackbird Pond graphic organizer
Storyboard Text
EXPOSITION
CONFLICT
RISING ACTION
Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler leaves her wealthy home in Barbados following the death of her grandfather. Impulsively jumping aboard the ship the Dolphin, she sets out to start a new life with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
CLIMAX
Right away, Kit finds that she does not fit in well with the Puritan society of Wethersfield. Her wealthy upbringing and free-spirited ways make it hard for her to adjust to the hard work and strict religious practices of her family and neighbors.
FALLING ACTION
As Kit strives to fit in with Wethersfield society, she works long hours in the kitchen and fields, attends church services, and wins the romantic attentions of William Ashby. Although the villagers begin to accept her, Kit’s best friends turn out to be Hannah Tupper, who is rumored to be a witch, a sailor on the Dolphin named Nat, and Prudence, a young girl Kit secretly teaches to read.
RESOLUTION
The Witch
When many of the villagers come down with a deadly fever, an angry mob tries to attack Hannah Tupper, believing her to be a witch responsible for the illnesses. Kit manages to get Hannah to safety, only to be accused of witchcraft herself. When Kit is put on trial, she is nearly condemned until Nat and Prudence come with evidence to prove her innocence.
When William Ashby fails to defend Kit during her witch trial, she realizes she can never marry him. Instead, William decides to marry Judith, and Mercy gets engaged to John Holbrook. Although Kit is happy for them, she feels unsettled and discontent. At first, she believes she is homesick for Barbados, but eventually she realizes that she misses Nat.
Nat returns in the spring with his own ship, the Witch, named after Kit. Kit and Nat plan to get married, allowing Kit to spend her winters in the West Indies and her summers in Connecticut with those she has come to love.