For being so short, it’s very charming and sweet. When my daughter read it recently and pushed me to read it too, so we could then watch the movie together, I was really glad I did. I was surprised to see how short the book is, and I wondered how much depth it could really have. I remember watching the movies with Christopher Walken and Glen Close when I was younger and liking them. When their father decides to place an advertisement for a wife and mother, Sarah Wheaton answers it, coming from her home in Maine to visit the Whittings in Kansas to see if they’re a good fit. Anna and Caleb wait and wonder.Anna and Caleb have had no mother for 6 years, as theirs died the day after Caleb was born. I am plain and tall, and Tell them I sing. Then Papa puts an ad in the paper, asking for a wife, and he receives a letter from one Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton, of Maine. Their house on the prairie is quiet now, and Papa doesn’t sing anymore. Their mother died the day after Caleb was born. The emotions that the children feel are very clear and all of the characters are well-written. Written in a very simple style, this book is a fast read. What a sweet story about two children who hope and pray that Sarah will stay with them forever and become their new mother. She is the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal its sequels, Skylark and Caleb’s Story. Patricia MacLachlan was born on the prairie, and to this day carries a small bag of prairie dirt with her wherever she goes to remind her of what she knew first.

Read the rest of the Sarah books by Patricia MacLachlan: Skylark, Caleb’s Story, More Perfect than the Moon, and Grandfather’s Dance.

This anniversary edition includes author Patricia MacLachlan’s Newbery speech, a discussion guide, and a reading list. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love. This children’s literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language.

Will Sarah be nice? Will she sing? Will she stay? Before Sarah arrives, Anna and her younger brother Caleb wait and wonder. Set in the late nineteenth century and told from young Anna’s point of view, Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of how Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton comes from Maine to the prairie to answer Papa’s advertisement for a wife and mother.

This beloved Newbery Medal–winning book is the first of five books in Patricia MacLachlan’s chapter book series about the Witting family.

Plain and tall book