Salem. A town that will live in infamy because of a gripping
tail that took place over 300 years ago. In Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer, get the inside scoop on what really
happened so long ago. How was it that one accusation turned into mass hysteria
and suspicion?
Reading this novel is like reading a play-by-play of life in
Salem in 1692 and the following years.
The narrative prose lends itself to an easy read and the subject matter
is only made more interesting by the wonderful scratch illustrations. Schanzer
lays out the history of the Salem Witch Trials, starting from the very first
hint of witchcraft, through the trials, and the long aftermath that many people
are unaware of. If you’ve ever wondered anything about the court officials
involved with the witch hunt, your answer is here.
I found this book to be very interesting and well-suited for
both middle and high school students. I think that middle school students would
enjoy the historical content and the ease of reading Schanzer has allowed for. High school students may be able to enjoy the
conspiracy surrounding the witch hunt a bit more and may feel the book lacking
in outside commentary. One thing that is very well done in this book is that
historical events are very clearly presented without bias and framed well to
remind readers of Puritan perceptions in the 17th century. High school students may see this as more of
a frustration, however, and want to skip ahead to the more action driven parts
of the sentencing.
Overall, Witches! was an enjoyable and quick read. It is
certainly worth the time to look over the fabulous illustrations if nothing
else. This book provides a succinct, yet incredibly complete history of the
Salem Witch Hunt and did not leave me wanting for anything more but a documentary
based on it. Finally discovering what happened to all the lawmakers and
justices involved made me want to know even more about the proceedings, when
before, I hadn’t even realized I never knew anything about the Massachusetts
court system in 1700. Also, it made me want to visit Salem and see if the energy of all the things that happened there still lingered.
3 comments:
This sounds like a fascinating read. Who wouldn't be interested in an honest-to-goodness witch-hunt? I like that it has both historical and biographical information, sounds like an interesting combination of formats and styles. I have to throw out a quick recommendation here: if you're interested further there is a great fiction read called Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult that is a modern day mirror of the Salem stories. Very good read if you have time!
I really wanted to read this book, but chose a non-fiction book about Georgia O'Keefe instead because I wanted to have something with an artistic focus. From what you said about the illustrations, I could have picked this one and still been able to at least partially focus on art.
This type of historical non-fiction fascinates me. As horrifying as the reality of the Salem trials were, I think most people are fascinated by the darker portions of our history. I think with the right suppliments and activities this could be an excellent book for the classroom.
What about the art? To incorporate original art into a book for tweens and teens is more acceptable now that graphic novels have reached a kind of grudging acceptance from the mainstream. Little wonder that the book has already garnered the prestigious Gold Medal for Best Illustrated Book of 2011 from the Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibition.
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