The Salem Witch Trials: An Interactive History Adventure

Children's Literature - Leigh Geiger

The reader steps into the Massachusetts Colony in the late 1600's and is immediately immersed in the religious fervor and harsh life the colonists endured. In the first chapter the author introduces the villagers' hysteric belief in witchcraft and the slim chance of escaping death once you were accused. With this introduction, the reader is then given a choice of three roles—accuser, accused or family of the accused. Once the reader chooses a role, they can follow it through, making additional smaller decisions to learn their fate. The text is age-appropriate, but realistic. The author doesn't shy away from presenting the harsh realities of mothers being hanged or children dying of disease and starvation. Readers will learn very few actual facts about this historical period, but they will certainly get a sense of the lifestyle. The text is easy to read, but the sentences are short and choppy. With so many decisions to make throughout the story, the reader is constantly turning pages and some of the continuity is lost. As there are many interactive electronic resources available for this topic, students may find this page-turning approach cumbersome and outdated. The author concludes with some additional historical perspectives which teachers may use as a starting point for discussions about the choices the Puritans faced. The text includes several engaging illustrations from this period, a limited glossary index and suggested reading, including Internet sites. Reviewer: Leigh Geiger, Ph.D.