5 comments about The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards)).

1. This is a wonderful book. Great illustrations with much detail about Darwin's life (all of it, family, career, adventures) including "pages" from his diary. I bought it for my son who really liked it. We read it together the first time, then he explored it on his own. He used it for a 4th grade school project and got an A. I enjoyed it, too.



2. This is a beautiful book! It gives you a vivid picture of Charles Darwin's life. Very enjoyable -- my son and I both got to know Darwin well from this book! I'm inspired to read all those books Darwin wrote.



3. Though I liked the book very much and enjoyed reading all of the facts about Charles Darwin, I think that the format was BUSY. All over each page there were illustrations and little facts of interest. I wanted to read them all... and did! But, I prefer a more straight forward format.



4. You know the REALLY funny thing about Darwin?
   His own children didn't even survive him.
   Which made him a failure in the sense he gave his name to.



5. This was my second book in series of 5 books I picked in local library to get myself educated about Darwin. Its awesome. The book is interspread with lots of artist's own impression of Darwin, since Darwin never consider himself to be an artist, the author used his imagination to prepare this book. This is a remarkable book and Author spent a considerable time doing these wonderful illustrations. After having read all 5 books I reread this book many times overs. It takes a few minutes to finish it, but you could be spending hrs marvelling Darwin by looking at these pictures. A wonderful book which packs a lot of information in few pages.

3 comments about Historic Houses of New England Coloring Book (Dover Coloring Book).

1. I just purchased these Dover COloring Books for my mother and she loves them. The detail is out of this world and the variety of colors you can use are only limited by your inagination. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!



2. I am currently coloring this book and greatly enjoying doing so, however, I think those considering purchasing this coloring book need to be aware it is very detailed.
   
   In order to portray the house completely on each page along with foreground, the drawings are small.
   
   A person needs a very fine-point marker or pen to do the coloring, and unless one likes small, detailed work, or has a great love for historic houses (I LOVE old houses), they might find it tedious.
   
   While I like the book, it is challenging.
   
   Definitely for adults only or possibly teenagers. It would be far too difficult for a young child.



3. The coloring books in the Dover Series, especially those by Marty Noble and A.G. Smith, are superb. My 8 yr old and 6 yr old daughters have been enjoying these highly detailed coloring books since they were 4 years old. It is a great balance to original art and allows children to focus on color combinations, balance, precision, and patterns. We use good quality colored pencils with these coloring books. Markers may bleed through depending on the type of marker. Great gift for anyone creative, especially children 5+ along with a set of good quality colored pencils.

No comments about Oliver Twist (A Stepping Stone Book Classic).

5 comments about The Photographer's Guide to the Maine Coast: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them.

1. David Middleton and Bruce Morrison have created a very insightful guide to coastal Maine photographic "hot spots". I am a professional photographer based in Maine, and while I am quite familiar with most of the places mentioned in this book I was pleasantly surprised to find out about others I had overlooked or was not aware of. (I also have a few secret spots of my own that did not crop up in the book..thankfully... but that's what makes this fun - a guidebook is best put to use as a springboard for further exploration.)

   Photographers who live in Maine or are planning to visit coastal Maine will find much to enjoy here. You couldn't ask for a better resource. Even non-photographer types would do well to mine the gems of this book for general sightseeing and hiking tips.
   Middleton and Morrison put you smack dab in the middle of great photo opportunities. A bit of a warning here: after you get a copy of this book you will feel a sudden and intense urge to be out on the Maine coast with your camera.

   PS - Middleton's guide to Vermont photo sites is excellent as well.




2. This is a good guidebook. It has enough detail/description to allow one to rationally select "likely sites" without being overpowering. However, there are an number of annoying editing errors present. (For example, every time the text reads "this place is 0.05 mile beyond that place", what's really meant is "0.5 mile". This is wrong in every place it's mentioned!)



3. We followed his book to the letter and a great book with valuable infomation. Would recommend this book for anyone traveling to Maine and who likes Lighthouses. Wonderful and helpful tips.



4. My wife and I are planning our vacation to Maine for late Summer '06. We enjoyed the book, pictures, and suggestions for "great pictures."
   We'll see how it goes!



5. Book has loads of information and beautiful pictures. I plan on using the suggestions during my trip to Maine.

5 comments about At Blanchard's Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook.

1. This is one of the best cookbooks we own (and we own a lot). Everything we have tried has turned out great and taste wonderful. Well worth owning



2. I also own a lot of cookbooks. I love to read them. I checked this book out from the library, and it is the only one I have ever checked out for free that I wanted to pay for, not matter how much it cost. Wonderful tips on products, unpretentious - almost apologetic in tone because she didn't graduate from culinary school (neither did I! Perfect!), beautiful photography, many, many recipes I want to try. Sandwiches fillings that become dips that become sauces, terrific adaptation and suggestions. I am so glad to have this cookbook/story. It is an irresistable love story of food and hospitality. Makes me want to go to their restaurant in Anguilla - wherever that is..... At least I can eat and serve the food! Try it at your library and see. Delightful.



3. The restaurant is beautiful and the cookbook is awesome. I've made several of the recipes and all were fabulous!



4. I met the Blanchards at a book singing where they were demonstrating some of the recipes; that was a few years back and I have not tired of awesome ideas found in this book. I have given this book to several family and friends and they rave about it as well!



5. These recipes are OUTSTANDING! They are so simple and use simple, fresh, flavorful ingredients that most people already have on hand. Some examples of recipes include:
   Baguette Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Mascarpone, and Basil
   Blanchards Corn Chowder
   Spicy Coconut and Sweet Potato Soup
   Chicken and Green Bean Salad with Kalamata Olive Dressing
   Potato Salad with Lime and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
   Orzo Salad with Corn, Tomatoes, Feta, and Chili-Lime Vinaigrette
   Sweet-and-Sour Swordfish with Onions, Raisins, and Tomatoes
   Calypso Chicken with Lime
   Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon, Olives, and Rosemary
   Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Capers, and Olives
   Island Rice with Cumin and Coconut
   Light-as-a-Cloud Lemon Mousse
   Coconut Cheesecake
   Homemade Coconut Ice Cream
   
   Believe me when I say that neither you nor your dinner guests will be sorry that you ordered this cookbook!! I promise! It is my absolute FAVORITE cookbook and my go-to when I don't know what to make. Order now...you won't be sorry!!

4 comments about Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State.

1. "Dishing Up Vermont" is a welcome addition to anyone's kitchen and cookbook library. For the master chef, novice, and everyone in between who may be interested in great whole food recipes prepared and flavored with organic ingredients, "Dishing Up Vermont" is a long awaited culinary dream. The wide selection of products used in these recipes not only include natural, healthy, and heart smart ingredients and preparation methods, but also emphasize sustainable farming practices, conservation, and fair trade markets which strengthen communities and the health of the overall land and environment. "Dishing Up Vermont" takes the reader through an exciting and delicious journey through the state of Vermont to eat at some of the finest restaurants, inns, and lodges while meeting some of the most exceptional chefs in the world...all in the comfort of your own kitchen. "Dishing Up Vermont" is an excellent cookbook that is unique in its mission and one that my family and friends will enjoy and recommend to others for many years to come. Kudos to its author!



2. Dishing Up Vermont is a wonderful new cookbook that combines the best recipes and ingredients from the Green Mountain State. It introduces the reader to a wealth of ingredients and products that give the cook an insider's view of Vermont's best. This cookbook demonstrates the important bond between farmers, chefs and consumers, while stressing the importance of the sustainable farming movement as well as buying local. The book contains beautiful photographs of Vermont and its products which add an extra touch to this delightful collection of recipes. This is a must have cookbook for anyone's library, whether you be a Vermonter, or a visitor to the state. Hats off to the author for giving us a cookbook which we will have in our library for many years to come.



3. You don't have to live in Vermont to love this cookbook. We live in Pennsylvania, and can get many of the same ingredients from our local farmer's market. This cookbook is for anyone who enjoys good food and knows the value of sustainable farming. Knowing the importance of buying locally produced foods, I found this cookbook to be a practical addition to my pantry. The recipes are easy to follow, yet taste like they were prepared by a gourmet chef. I particularly enjoyed the recipes for Blueberry Stuffed French Toast and Apple Covered Cheesecake. If you've ever been to Vermont, reading this will make you want to go back. The author does a wonderful job highlighting many of the Inns and Farms that make Vermont unique.



4. Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State is a compilation that unquestionably lives up to its title. Food writer and Tracey Medeiros, whose recipes have formerly appeared in "Bon Appetit", "Cooking Light", "Eating Well", and "Hampton Roads", offers easy-to-follow instructions for preparing tasty delights such as "Vermont-Style Hush Puppies", "Grilled Marinated Venison Loin", "Grilled Maple-marinated Portobello Mushrooms", "Butternut Squash Ravioli with Apples and Pears", and much more. Full-color photography and an assortment of Vermont food and eatery anecdotes round out this wonderful culinary tour de force.

4 comments about Expert in Murder, An: A New Mystery Featuring Josephine Tey.

1. Set in London's theater district in the early 1930's, this cleverly constructed detective novel features the real life mystery writer Josephine Tey as a character--not a sleuth. (Detective work is taken care of by the police.) The story revolves around a hit play--Richard of Bordeaux--actually written by Tey. It opens with Tey on her way to London by train for the last week's run of her hit. She becomes involved in a murder that has nothing and everything to do with the play. The detective on the case, Archie Penrose, is her boyfriend.
   
   The plot is a jigsaw puzzle of lives carried on in the wake of "The Great War," and the many odd pieces all fit together quite nicely in the end. The characters--particularly the women--are well drawn, but perhaps there are a few too many. Occasionally credulity is strained with coincidence or with secrets known to one character but not others. The pleasant thing is that the author has avoided many clichés of the mystery novel and given us something fresh. The use of the war as background gives her story a dimension not often found in mysteries.



2. This review is of an Advanced Reader Copy, and originally appeared at www.duskbeforethedawn.net.
   
   This murder mystery, the first in a new series, features London settings, the West End and the stage, an excellent historical period (England between WWI and WWII). What more could you ask for? Well, for one, a plot where you cannot guess "whodunit", which is the main reason I do not read very many mysteries. But Ms. Upson does herself proud: the plot is intricate and well thought out, the characters engaging and flawed, and the scenery described in detail but not boringly or intricately so.
   
   Josephine Tey has authored the hottest play in London and takes the train from Scotland to see the plays closing and visit with friends. She meets a female fan on the plane but shortly after their arrival in London, that fan is murdered on the train (a murder on a train in a mystery?). The murderer dresses up the scene of the crime to indicate the act had something to do with Josephine's play, and a second murder the next day occurs directly connected to the play. Josephine's friend Inspector Archie Penrose leads the investigation, which begins to point to the actors and others associated with The New Theater in London.
   
   Obviously to give away more would spoil the surprises, but the novel is populated with great characters:
   
   * Lydia, the leading lady of the play, who has a new female lover named Marta and is being told she is aging toward the end of her starring roles;
   * Aubrey, owner of The New Theater, wealthy, producer of the play, maker of careers, veteran of World War I as a tunneler, and carrying claustrophobia and a desire for vengeance from an occurence in the war; Ms. Upson's descriptions give excellent background here (from page 50 of the ARC):
   "Today, as usual, he rejected the convenient option of a ten-minute journey to work courtest of the city's underground railway and set off on foot. The peculiar atmosphere evoked by London's tunnels was not for him, and he never failed to wonder at the willingness with which people now accepted darkness and confinement as a naturla part of their day-to-day existence. For Aubrey, the lingerings, acrid smell of those subterranean passageways brought back ghosts from a past he tried in vain to forget. Too old at forty-five to take part in the trench war but with a distinguished military record behind him, he had spent those terrible years as a tunneler in the guts of the French earth and had no wish to return to its horrors in his waking hours as well as in his nightmares."
   * Fallowfield, Inspector Penrose' sergeant.
   
   The historical setting and it's descriptions reminds me of Pat Barker's Regeneration series; though it is set in a slightly earlier timeframe, the depiction of those who experienced and/or were affected by WWI is key to that time period and this story.
   
   Enjoyable, well-paced and I look forward to the next in the series.



3. When I read reviews of this book, I couldn't wait to read it. Maybe that is why I didn't find it lived up to my expectations. I found this book slow and the characters unlikeable.



4. Choosing Josephine Tey to 'star' in a mystery series is a bold move. How can anyone match her? My expectations were unrealistic & Nicola Upson's novel is crowded with so many other characters that perhaps too many pages are necessitated? Detective novels often present history that is colored more by one's wishes than truth it seems to me.
   
   'Setting the stage' is what a writer of plays does. For me, the neighborhoods & countryside of Britain can never be described too often, whereas my imagination filled in much of what was not spelled out about D.I. Archie Penrose, for example. Having read & reread Tey's stories for decades, I could infuse her character as a reluctantly successful playwright with depth & personality drawn from characters who peopled each of her books (particularly my favorites: "Daughter of Time," "Brat Farrar" and "The Franchise Affair").
   
   Sometimes persons wanting to post opinions on amazon.com seem to gallop to cross the finish line & either skim the book or make careless errors. To mix fact with fiction can be 'tricky' but author Upson has probably filled notebooks with possibilities for future mysteries without expecting all to hit home with every reader?
   
   Good luck to the author and cheers to all who bring homage to Tey, a great writer. If new, younger readers are set on the path of "discovering" Josephine Tey's books, extra thanks. Let Nicola Upson nudge all of us toward rereading the incomparable Tey!

5 comments about New England (Regional Guide).

1. Hey, I bought this book and liked it...and I'm a native New Englander. The coverage for Maine is particularly good, or at least I thought so.

   However, I'm posting this not so much to let y'all know that the guide is good, but to say that this book is in it's third edition, published in 2001. All of the reviews here date from 2000 and before. They apply to the second edition of the book, not the third. So take them with a grain of salt, cuz LP changes it's content alot when they update old editions.

   Just my two cents.




2. Hey, I bought this book and liked it...and I'm a native New Englander. The coverage for Maine is particularly good, or at least I thought so.

   However, I'm posting this not so much to let y'all know that the guide is good, but to say that this book is in it's third edition, published in 2001. All of the reviews here date from 2000 and before. They apply to the second edition of the book, not the third. So take them with a grain of salt, cuz LP changes it's content alot when they update old editions.

   Just my two cents.




3. I've always bought Let's Go whenever I travel, but they didn't have a New England book, so I had to get this one. The organization is about the same. It doesn't have as much detail as the Let's Go Boston that I also bought, but I suppose it was because this has more content. The writing is a lot more entertaining that LG though. Also, I found the public transportation info really helpful. I plan on going on a New England road trip someday and I'll definitely bring this book with me.



4. I used LP lots of times before, and some are better than other, some are really really good, but this was the worst one ever: I used it on a road trip from CT to Maine in December 2006: predictable hotels, compact somewhat boring descriptions, and lack of good stories, interesting details, none of the tips you look for as a traveller.. . Could use some passion.



5. I have the 2008 edition of this guide book. As a lonely planet guidebook, it is not very good. As a guidebook in general, it is not the worst.
   
   I have frequently used lonely planet guides in the past when traveling and have generally liked them but this one is lacking. As several other reviewers have mentioned, the hotels, places and even towns mentioned are predictable. Also, unlike most lonely planet guides, this one is not geared to the budget traveler or backpacker at all unless you consider a hotel around $150 to be "budget". Certainly, the writers could have done more research to seek out unique places to stay. If I wanted a travel book written for my parents, I would buy Frommers. This is practically the same thing. This book is good if you are driving through somewhere for a few hours and need a place (restaurant/pub) to stop and don't know the town at all. For instance, it pointed us to an excellent pub with lots of microbreweries in Portland, Maine that we otherwise would not have found since we were just passing through. But any guide should be able to do the same thing. Overall, the writing does not add much general insight to the regions being reviewed nor does it point out many unusual finds or destinations. You don't get the sense that the writer really explored the region.

5 comments about Loving and Leaving the Good Life.

1. In today's youth-obsessed contemporary culture, it is a rare treat to be able to find a book so full of loving wisdom written by someone so involved socially, politically, and spiritually in the events of the 20th century. Therefore, I was enthralled in reading Helen Nearing's moving, absorbing and often quite disarming recollections and reflections on her life, both as an individual and as the lifetime partner of one of the most celebrated critics, iconoclasts and individualists of our time, economist, philosopher and social critic Scott Nearing.

   The two lived lives singularly devoid of apologies, half-efforts, or excuses, living it largely on their own terms, based on their own labors and ingenuity. Early in the 1930s they struck out from New York City to escape the Depression and social convention by starting a revolutionary experiment in rural Vermont. In many respects the experiment succeeded, yet they were never able to transform it from a personal adventure to one more largely social and community-based in the Vermont setting. With the coming of ski resorts and encroaching exurbia in the early 1950s, the Nearings moved once again to rural Penobscot Bay in Maine to start again.

   Of course, in due time they were suddenly "discovered" by the baby boomers and the counterculture in the late 1960s, and became the elder statesmen of the `back-to-the-land' movement of the late sixties and early seventies. In all this, Scott and Helen continued in their commitment to a socially aware, civically responsible, and environmentally sustainable way of living. By the time Scott died at age 100 in the early 1980s, thousands of curious counterculture hopefuls made the pilgrimage to visit with the Nearings at their celebrated farm in rural coastal Maine.

   This is a lovely, thoughtful, and wise book, full of the almost endless love and care and compassion Helen Nearing brought to all of her endeavors for her many decades of purposeful and socially responsible living. This book is no small treasure; it looms large and lovely for those who are aware of the incredible journey the Nearings made as fellow citizens, and also of the loving and special relationship these two rugged individualists shared. I have read it several times, and love having it on my bookshelf. I suspect you will too.




2. Having encountered the Nearings in Mother Earth News in the 70's I quickly became an avid admirer as well as a sincere follower of their wisdom. Thus I was overjoyed to buy Helens book because it allowed me to see a side of both Scott and Helen I never knew that well. The man whom I had admired as a wise soul but a tad put off by people, comes across as such a loving and yes "romantic" soul which made me like him even more. And Helen sharing how she was raised and the experiences she had and how she was encouraged by Scott to spread her wings and not allow him to fence her in, is a must read for any woman who questions where she belongs in the whole life circle.

   We must own a good five hundred books that we love, but this book is amongst a handful that get read and re-read over and over, with something new being learned each time. I also think the book like all their books is a must read, because it reminds us how fascists this country (united states) has been and can be and the price sincere patriots often pay. As well as the value of taking the path less traveled and not relinquishing ones personal integrity or perseverance. And that in the end the good guy can win.




3. When your 100-year old husband of 55 years has passed on and you, at 88, can see your own end, and when you have spent most of those years seeking and living the good life, and when you take the time and trouble to record your thoughts for posterity, it is surely worthwhile for us, the readers, to take note and reflect on what might be of value in our own goal of living the good life. This is not a biography of the husband, Scott, nor an autobiography of Helen but it is offered as a tribute to Scott's being as Helen knew it. She wants Scott to be remembered as an unassuming, kindly, wise, husband as well as a principled, uncompromising, intellectual radical; she also wants to share with us his peaceful, intentioned, and premeditated ending.

   Born in the upper echelons of society, he worked alongside immigrant laborers in the Pennsylvania mine run by his grandfather. This was a formative experience that resulted in his speaking publicly in his early twenties on liberal reform. '''Even before I began the study of economics,' he said in an early lecture, 'I was impressed by the monstrous inequality which exists between the rich and the poor in modern society. The rich enjoy wealth, leisure, and boundless opportunity. The poor are overwhelmed by misery, overwork, and insanitation. The rich have a heaven of opportunity; the poor a hell of misery, and the heaven of the rich is founded upon the hell of the poor. If I was impressed by these conditions before I had studied them, I was appalled after having given them careful consideration. I had heard of poverty; I believed that misery and vice existed, but I was not aware that they were prevalent in every town and city of the land. Ability and capacity were suppressed; together with the progress which might well be attained, were opportunity more universal ... The poor are ignorant of the fact that by standing together at the ballot box, they might revolutionize conditions in a decade.'"

   Very soon he had offended the powers that be with his outspoken views and he would never teach again in the United States. From that point Scott's life can be summed up in these sentences: "The living of an ideal involves payment of a certain price ... the further the ideal is removed from the common practice, the higher the price that must be paid for it ... If your ideal is to live a mentally active, mentally honest life, to seek the truth, then you may have to sacrifice even food, clothing, and shelter to get it." and "The majority will always be for caution, hesitation, and the status quo - always against creation and innovation. The innovator - he who leaves the beaten track - must therefore always be a minoritarian - always be an object of opposition, scorn, hatred. It is part of the price he must pay for the ecstasy that accompanies creative thinking and acting." Scott was aware of the price he would have to pay for his convictions; he regretted enormously the loss of the day-to-day contact with his university students who lost an outstanding educator; but he never regretted standing alone. One of his file cards clearly defined the problem: "If a man is one step ahead of the crowd he is a leader; if two steps ahead, he is a disturber; if three steps, he is a fanatic and not to be trusted." Scott was too many steps ahead of those in authority and he was a danger who had to be removed. At the age of 34 his chosen career was in ruins; his books that had been standard textbooks in public schools were banned and royalty income ceased. He was at the low point of his life and that was when he met Helen.

   Helen, born in 1904 into a family of high principles and adequate means was the unconventional child, always reading and addicted to the twelve volumes of the Book of Knowledge at a young age. She had a talent for the violin, preferred the company of trees and rocks, drew and wrote poetry. She did not accept unquestioningly the world in which she lived. As a teenager she felt there was a power and a purpose in the universe and queried what we are here for and what life is all about. At seventeen, she sailed to Rotterdam to study the violin, met up with the Theosophists and the young Krishnamurti who she followed for several years on his mission to be a world teacher. But she saw the vast abyss between the ultra rich and the homeless in Bombay and Calcutta while Krishnamurti surrounded himself with the well to do, the famous and the influential. It was time for her to strike out on her own path. She returned to Ridgewood and there received a phone call from Scott.

   The formative years for both of them were over; they were ready for each other; they were ready to build a life together; they were ready to create their version of the good life. We have much to learn from this couple because their life together was built on high principles. We are indeed fortunate that Helen left us this book.




4. Scott and Helen Nearing spent half a century building stone houses, growing their food, and making a living on primitive homesteads in Vermont and Maine. Scott died at age 100 in the 1980s. Helen lasted another 10 years or so and this is her account of her life before Scott and their life together.
   
   Helen was born into a well-to-do family but had a rebellious streak that led her into music, astrology, the occult, and philosophy. In the 1920s she was the lover -- at least on the mental plane -- of an Indian philospher named Krisnamurti who was apparently famous in his day. Helen assumes that the reader knows who this "world teacher" was. I confess I never heard of him --and more explanation as to who he was and what he taught would have been helpful. Later Helen took up with Scott and they moved to the country and spent the rest of their lives as homesteaders.
   
   Scott was a cantankerous communist and I didn't grow any fonder of him by reading Helen's account. He was rigid and narrow-minded. Helen quotes some of his letters. He wrote her in a tone that would inspire my wife to respond, "Buzz off, you old goat." Although she wouldn't say "buzz." Scott's wrote savage letters to his son by a previous wife. Small wonder the boy dropped the last name of Nearing. In Scott's eyes, his son committed the unpardonable sin of criticizing the Soviet Union -- and Scott refused even to go to his funeral. One wonders whether Helen might be getting a bit of posthumous revenge on the old radical by publishing letters he wrote that show him as less than benign.
   
   However, the bulk of the book is a a highly favorable account of Scott and Helen and their life together. They were the gurus of the back to the land movement in the 1960s and the 1970s and their books about their life in the country are minor classics. Read "Living the Good Life" first and if you are interested in learning more about the Nearings read this book. Whatever you may think of them the Nearings were an interesting couple. Their homestead can be visited near Castine, ME.
   
   Smallchief



5. For the reader who is interested in principled people who made a series of transitions out of choice and necessity. The Nearing's rugged individualist days of trial, triumph and living in ways they wouldn't trade for other compromises are defining and provide an excellent source of perspective on values and points of conclusion.

5 comments about The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

1. The Witch of Blackbird Pond is the perfect book for adolescent girls who are interested in love stories. The novel uses language that is true to the times and deals with the subject of Quakers and witch craft. I read this book when I was an adolescent and fell in love with Kit. Her character really comes to live throughout the pages of the book. Upon reading it again, I have renewed my appreciation for the main character and her trials and tribulations.



2. I originally read this way back in jr. high and sadly only remember being entranced by it--not recalling any of the plot. I finally got around to the rereading and recalled why I had the original feeling of enchantment. This is one good book.
   
   Kit Tyler is a sixteen-year-old girl who leaves Barbados after her grandfather's death for the more austere world of Puritan New England to say with her aunt's family. But Kit is completely unprepared for the ways of these people. Even so, she manages to grow in unimaginable ways as she connects with people with whom she would have never seen herself.
   
   And it's not a simple moralistic book. It's a book about a girl coming of age. Unlike other books of the Puritans, there are no villains, just those who are different and it's amazing to see Kit come to understand that.
   
   The characters are entrancing and dimensional, the setting is described in an honest prose that only shows Speare's love of New England.
   
   It deserves its Newberry.



3. My office mate and I exchange book, and one day the Witch of Blackbird Pond was on my desk. I remembered reading this book in late elementary school and that I liked it. I decided to give it a go at age 28 and still enjoyed. Yes, now, some of the romance and struggles seem a tad childish, but the character IS childish, so I suppose it is par for the course. None the less, the basic message, 'everyone who is worth liking doesn't always fit in' is still a good one.



4. I read this book when I was ten, and loved it so much that I read it again.
   This was in the late 60's and I still have it. Great story.



5. I loved this book when I was a little girl. I read it at least four times. I would suggest this book to any young girl with a love of History, or reading.