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Title: Sarah, Plain and Tall
Notable: Book #1 in the Sarah, Plain and Tall series; Newbery Medal winner, 1986
Premise:
Anna and Caleb live on the Great Plains with their father. Their mother died after Caleb’s birth, and their father has never quite recovered from the loss. One day, Papa informs the children that he has advertised for a wife and a lady named Sarah has responded. Sarah agrees to visit them on a trial basis to see if things will work out. Anna and Caleb become attached to Sarah, but they’re terrified that she will decide to go back to her brother’s home in Maine.
My thoughts:
I read this book when I was a kid and it’s just as good today as it was back then. It’s amazing how such a touching story can be contained in such a short book. My copy is a mere 58 pages.
I feel so sorry for poor Anna and Caleb who are pining for a mother’s love and for their father to recover some of his joy again. When Sarah sweeps into their lives, she’s like a breath of fresh air. She tells them about her beloved far-off sea and the creatures who live there. They go swimming in the cow pond, slide down a hay “dune,” and Papa teaches Sarah to ride horse and drive the wagon. But when Sarah visits town by herself, the children worry that she won’t return.
It’s that climactic final scene when Sarah returns and reassures the family that she intends to stay, when your heartstrings are tugged the most. I just love this touching story about loss, hope, family and new beginnings. It’s a beautiful story. 🙂
I recommend Sarah, Plain and Tall to kids who are reading beginner chapter books, or as a poignant family read-aloud.
Rating: 5 Stars
Until next time…
Lori
OTHER SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL SERIES POSTS:
years ago, as a child. I love frontier adventures which feature female heroines. The fact that this story takes place in the area I grew up in makes it that much more interesting to me. This is a 1936 Newbery Medal winner, too!
is the second book from my 
as our chapter book for homeschooling. I read this book as a child, but had forgotten the details. It’s the 1968 Newbery Medal winner.
is a book for younger readers that’s loosely based on a true story. Karana lives on an island in a small community of native people. When the Aleuts show up to hunt otter, there is conflict and many in her tribe are killed. Not too long after, another ship arrives to take the remainder of her tribe to the mainland to start a new life there. Karana’s brother gets left behind when he goes back for something he forgot, and she jumps from the ship into the sea to swim back to the island. Because of bad weather, the ship has to leave without them, so she and her brother are forced to fend for themselves on the island. After only a short time her brother dies and she is left all alone. The rest of the book chronicles the many tasks she has to do to survive, such as harvesting abalones and building a shelter. Karana also makes friends with one of the wild dogs who has been injured, and some other creatures. In the end she is rescued, but not until after eighteen years of seclusion.
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is a story about a boy who is chosen to carry the burden of an entire society’s memories and feelings. People in his community value sameness and following rules. Jonas (the main character) is chosen as the next in line to carry the heavy burden for the rest of society, so that others don’t have to feel pain, confusion, fear, etc. As Jonas progresses in his training, he decides that it is not right that the people in his community should not have to help carry the burden. In the end he leaves to find an alternate type of society, not only to force the people to feel again, but to save somebody who is in danger. It’s the Newbery Medal winner for 1994.
Book Buffoonery 