Sarah, Plain and Tall (rpkg) (HarperClassics) 
asked by janmueller on November 12, 2006 11:17 AM
MacLachlan, author of Unclaimed Treasures, has written an affecting tale for children. In the late 19th century a widowed midwestern farmer with two children--Anna and Caleb--advertises for a wife. When Sarah arrives she is homesick for Maine, especially for the ocean which she misses greatly. The children fear that she will not stay, and when she goes off to town alone, young Caleb--whose mother died during childbirth--is stricken with the fear that she has gone for good. But she returns with colored pencils to illustrate for them the beauty of Maine, and to explain that, though she misses her home, "the truth of it is I would miss you more." The tale gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love.
Reviews
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This book is good and it is about two children, their mom die and they are getting a new mom. The woman's name is Sarah. Before she comes they send letters back and forth and they answer each others questions. In the summer Sharah comes to see them. If you want to know if she stays or not you will have to buy the book.
reviewed by paradiselove on November 13, 2006 5:33 AM
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Sarah, Plain and Tall is a heartfelt story about a family who lost a mother and wife. Jacob, Caleb and Anna's father, must make the decision to place an ad for a wife and mother for the best for all of them. Sarah, a young lady from Maine, returns letters back and forth to the whole family getting to know them better. She decides to come down to the prairies of Kansas from the sea for a month to see if this is a life she could become accustomed to. When the children see the yellow bonnet coming down the road, excitement was in the air along with anticipation. Would she decide to stay and marry Jacob, or would this place be too small and too far away from the sea for Sarah.
Maclachlan chooses to have the young daughter, Anna tell this story to get a better understanding of what young children had to go through back in the prairie days. (Around the late 1800s) Anna shows us the inside picture of what is like to have to suddenly lose a mother, say hello to a new brother, and have the heart and maturity to accept and love a new mother.
The theme is a lesson for all to learn. Through pain and tragedy, great new things can arise. Everyone has pain in their lives, whether it is a death or something else. Choosing to fall apart and never sing again or to become stronger and better because of the situation is the outcome. Anna shows how strong she had to be to lose her mother and still be pretty much the woman in that family. Sarah shows how is hard to say goodbye to family and one way of life. She realizes that now it would be just as hard to leave her new family. Yes, she will forever miss the sea and her brother, but nothing could replace the dunes, animals, and family that she now has in her new life forever.
Maclachlan chooses to have the young daughter, Anna tell this story to get a better understanding of what young children had to go through back in the prairie days. (Around the late 1800s) Anna shows us the inside picture of what is like to have to suddenly lose a mother, say hello to a new brother, and have the heart and maturity to accept and love a new mother.
The theme is a lesson for all to learn. Through pain and tragedy, great new things can arise. Everyone has pain in their lives, whether it is a death or something else. Choosing to fall apart and never sing again or to become stronger and better because of the situation is the outcome. Anna shows how strong she had to be to lose her mother and still be pretty much the woman in that family. Sarah shows how is hard to say goodbye to family and one way of life. She realizes that now it would be just as hard to leave her new family. Yes, she will forever miss the sea and her brother, but nothing could replace the dunes, animals, and family that she now has in her new life forever.
reviewed by waltersmith on November 13, 2006 6:32 PM