Sarah, Plain and Tall

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. Before Sarah arrives, Anna and her younger brother Caleb wait and wonder. Will Sarah be nice? Will she sing? Will she stay?

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, and it's a strong choice for independent reading. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss, and love. 

This anniversary edition includes author Patricia MacLachlan's Newbery speech, a discussion guide, and a reading list. 

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

My mother, Sarah, doesn't love the prairie. She tries, but she can't help remembering what she knew first.

Sarah came to the prairie from Maine to marry Papa. But that summer, a drought turned the land dry and brown. Fires swept across the fields and coyotes came to the well in search of water. So Sarah took Anna and Caleb back east, where they would be safe. Papa stayed behind. He would not leave his land.

Maine was beautiful, but Anna missed home, and Papa. And as the weeks went by, she began to wonder what would happen if the rains never came. Would she and Caleb and Sarah and Papa ever be a family again?

Anna has done something terrible. She has given me a journal to fill.

"It's your job now," Anna says as she hands Caleb her journals, asking him to continue writing the family story. But Sarah, Jacob, Anna, Caleb, and their new little sister, Cassie, have already formed a family, and Caleb fears there will be nothing left to write about. That is, before Cassie discovers a mysterious old man in the barn, and everything changes. Everyone is excited about the arrival of a new family member—except for Jacob, who holds a bitter grudge. Only the special love of Caleb, and the gift he offers, can help to mend the pain of the past.

I am a watcher. I am a listener, too. I am invisible. I can make myself so small and quiet and hidden that sometimes no one knows I am there to watch and listen.

Cassie spends her days watching Grandfather and Caleb in the barn, looking out at Papa working the fields, spying on her mother, Sarah, feeding the goslings. She's an observer, a writer, a storyteller. Everything is as it should be.

But change is inevitable, even on the prairie. Something new is expected, and Sarah says it will be the perfect gift. Cassie isn't so sure. But just as life changes, people change too. And Cassie learns that unexpected surprises can bring great joy.

Jack leans back on Grandfather's shoulder. Aunt Mattie's knitting needles click in the dark. The moon rises. The candle flickers in the gentle prairie wind. I close my eyes to keep everything there.

Could anything be more perfect than a prairie wedding? Cassie Witting doesn't think so, for her sister Anna's wedding brings two lovebirds together, aunts from faraway Maine, a long white dress with a wedding veil, dancing under a clear blue sky, and a world that smells of roses.

As the Witting family comes together for this most special day, Cassie sees that life brings the change of seasons, brother Jack on Grandfather's lap, joy, sorrow, and a special dance only Grandfather does.