The Salem Witch Trials

November 1, 2004
Gr 3-6-Yolen and her daughter outline the basic events that gripped this community while boxed text, drawn to look like pages from an investigator's notebook, add context. Smaller sidebars define some of the terms used. The book concludes with a presentation of some of the extant theories of what caused the girls' hysteria and the reactions of the other townspeople, with questions for readers, based on the text, that may support or attack each theory. Roth's graphite-and-watercolor illustrations, done in somber tones, convey the bleakness of the Colonial winter and the drama of the unfolding events. There have been a number of books for this audience covering the Salem witch trials, Edward Dolan's (Benchmark, 2001), Tamra Orr's (Blackbirch, 2004), and Stephen Currie's (KidHaven, 2002), among them. While these titles cover the facts more completely and may be better suited for reports, the investigative approach used here gives a different perspective and encourages readers to evaluate the evidence and draw their own conclusions.-Elaine Fort Weischedel, Millbury Public Library, MA

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2004
Gr. 4-6. Yolen and her daughter offer another entry in the Unsolved Mystery from History series. Once again, a girl whose father is a detective introduces events. She collects information about the "case" and at the end offers various scenarios about what happened in Salem, asking readers to come up with their own conclusions. The format seems more streamlined than in previous books, but each spread still features a text box and another box in the shape of a notebook, which contains the girl's musings. There are also several colored boxes with word definitions, which could have been incorporated into the text; simpler words could also have been used. On the plus side, this effectively introduces an intriguing subject, and the mystery of what really happened is more than enough to whet kids' appetites. Roth's illustrations serve the text very well; big, bold, and reminiscent of the work of Trina Schart Hyman, they fit the oversize picture-book format and move things along. A bibliography and list of Web sites will lead readers to more.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2005
Children are encouraged to use their own reasoning powers to interpret the Salem witch trials of 1692. Each page includes historic information, the young detective-narrator's "notes" about the events, and important vocabulary words. The subdued palette of the illustrations reinforces the mystery's somber tone, and the careful detailing supports the book's interest in historical fact. Websites. Bib.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)