Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

They would list all of their similarities on one side of the page then list their differences on the other. I can see though how this book could help many other children who have lost a parent and gain a stepfather or mother.įor a classroom extension, I would have students choose two characters to compare and contrast. I have always had both of my parents and fortunately have never experienced a loss so close to me. This story is not a story that I can relate to personally. After a few years pass, their father sends for a mail order bride from the east coast. They are both in need of a woman to help aleviate that longing for their mother. Their mother passes away the day after she gives birth to Caleb so Caleb did not know her very well and Anna misses her terribly. Sarah, Plain and Tall is a story about a little girl named Anna, her little brother Caleb, and their father who lived on the prairie a long time ago. This omnibus is staying on my bookshelves, and I'm adding it to my favorites' list, to be reread. These books are well written, the characters are real people, and the entire series is extremely enjoyable. A stranger shows up at the farm, and brings questions about Jacob's mysterious past. The third book is told from the perspective of Caleb, after his sister Anna goes to town to work for her prospective father in law, a doctor. How this affects Jacob and his family is again told simply, but with love. The second book, 'Skylark', continues the story of the family, but in the midst of a severe drought that causes many of the settlers to pack up and leave, never to return. Told from the perspective of the adolescent Anna, this story is plain, like Sarah, but touching and sweet. They take turns writing letters to Sarah, and she answers, telling them she will come and visit for a month. Jacob is lonely and has not sung since his wife died after giving birth to their second child, Caleb.Īs the book opens Anna and Caleb are excited when their father tells them he has advertised for a wife, and has gotten a response from a woman in Maine, named Sarah.

The first book, 'Sarah, Plain and Tall' is told by Anna, the daughter of a widower, Jacob, and takes place about the turn of the century in the mid western plains of the USA. I've read the first book in this omnibus, 'Sarah, Plain and Tall' before, but not the two follow up stories.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan