Blackwater Swamp [Hardcover]

Bill Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Ted thinks the Louisiana bayou swamp witch is just a tall tale, until he sees her for himself, and when she is blamed for a series of recent break-ins, Ted learns something about prejudice. By the author of Danger in Quicksand Swamp.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To get to the bottom of a string of robberies, Ted must confront the witch of Blackwater Swamp. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-A fifth-grade boy living in a small Louisiana town narrates this story of adventure and mystery. The ingredients include a spooky swamp, a mysterious old "witch" woman, and a rash of unsolved break-ins and robberies. A subplot is Ted's struggle to find an appropriate friend in his new town. Jimmy, interesting but also rude and ill-behaved, accompanies him to spy on the witch, who has a shack on an island in Blackwater Swamp. The plot turns ugly when Jimmy's redneck cousin Bubba leads a crew of his friends, lynch-mob style, to burn out and torment the old woman. Ted predictably comes to her rescue, but ends up being protected by her. Ironically, his new best friend could be the witch herself, who is merely the small town's only homeless person, an elderly black woman. In general, characters are type cast and superficial; adults are unrealistically peripheral to the story, their presence vague and unconvincing. In an attempt to destroy one stereotype, another is employed: the somber anti-prejudice message, delivered through revelation of the woman's true identity, is inconsistent with the extreme caricature of Bubba and his boys. Jimmy, the abused child in a family of thieves, is lumped into that group of thugs, offering little insight into the actions of a disadvantaged child. Some youngsters will be pleased to pick up the clues more quickly than Ted, but others will find him exasperating. Literary weaknesses aside, the elements of adventure and suspense will keep the pages turning, and the exotic setting and activities of the witch will fuel readers' imaginations.
Valerie Lennox, Jacksonville Public Library, FL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 185 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823411206
• ISBN-13: 978-0823411207
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was a great mystery., November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Blackwater Swamp: Blackwater Swamp (Paperback)

Black Water Swamp is a amazing book. I suggest everyone to read it. It is about a boy who spies on a witch that lives in the Black Water Swamp. He also gets in deep trouble and gets caught between big robberies. I thought this book was a great mystery. I suggest all ages of readers to try this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blackwater Swamp, May 19, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Blackwater Swamp: Blackwater Swamp (Paperback)

Blackwater Swamp is about a boy named Ted that moves a lot and now he's finally found a place in Louisiana. He has a friend that likes books and who is crazy about books. Ted's not that crazy over books. At school he meets Jimmy Larkin. Jimmy tells him stories about the witch that lives in Blackwater Swamp. Ted says lets go down and spy on her in Blackwater Swamp. They both decide to go down there and when they get there, they peer over a cliff. Ted slips and falls down towards Blackwater Swamp. What will happen? Will he get away from the witch or will he get captured and killed right in front of his new friend Jimmy?
This book was a good book because you can never tell when or what is going to happen next. I think it was a well written book and good descriptions. This book is a very good adventure and a little bit of mystery involved too. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and mystery books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blackwater Swamp, February 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Blackwater Swamp: Blackwater Swamp (Paperback)

BLACK WATER SWAMP
BY: BILL WALLACE

This book is about a young boy named Ted. He recently moved to Louisiana. He lives with his Mother, Father, and baby sister Christine. He always thought that the witch of Black water swamp was a legend, but soon he'll find out its not. There have been a series of robberies in the small town in which Ted lives.

I liked this book because it is a good mystery. The way the writer writes makes this book hard to put down. The author uses good descriptive details. This book is for younger audiences, maybe fourth through six grade.

By: John Kennedy