Happy Birthday, Elizabeth George Speare!
In celebration of Elizabeth George Speare’s birthday (born November 21, 1908), we’re making a special offer! The Boomerang for her novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, is:
HALF PRICE ($5.95) till Monday,
Nov. 23 at midnight EST
Elizabeth George Speare was born in Melrose, Massachusetts. She lived in New England until her death in 1994. Most of her novels, including The Witch of Blackbird Pond, take place in her native homeland. Inspired by the wild woods and headlands of her home, Speare began writing her stories at age 8. Later, she earned first a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and then a master’s in English from Boston University.
In 1936, she married a man named Alden Speare and they had two children together. From all accounts, Elizabeth never stopped writing and led a happy life with her family in Connecticut. Starting with her novel Calico Captive in 1957, Speare began her career. Her works are usually based on historical happenings, and, as in the case of her first book, the real journal of a girl captured by Indians.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth’s second novel, was not based on a real person, but instead focused on the colonial time period and the fear of witchcraft that plagued Massachusetts. Speare won the 1959 Newberry Award for her work. Later, she would win another for her book The Bronze Bow. While not a prolific writer (she wrote four novels in her lifetime), Speare’s influence continues in a brilliant legacy of words.
“Everything in our lives leads up to everything else in our lives. So a moment in the present has a reference point, both in the past and in the future. I want you to know that you–as you are right now and as you ever will be–are fully enough for this moment.” ― Elizabeth George Speare
So, celebrate Elizabeth George Speare’s birthday and take advantage of this special offer today!
Also, if you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: The Witch of Blackbird Pond (affiliate link).
The Boomerang is a monthly digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It is geared toward 7th to 10th graders (ages 12—advanced, 13-15) and is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.
Image is of the 1958 first edition cover published by Houghton Mifflin.
