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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This story was so sweet. I loved it. It was a little young for my kids though. With the amount of read-alouds and audiobooks we go through, it felt like it was too light and quick. It would have been better when they were maybe 4-6 years old? It would be a great independent reader for my boy when he's a bit more fluent, so I may look at the sequel then.
P.S. Yes, I teared up a few times. The kids are used to Mom crying over read-alouds haha
Reread March 2022:
Son (currently 8yo) read this aloud to me, taking turns, as his reader for school. It’s still such a sweet story and an excellent choice for an early fluent reader. I may see if he likes the sequels.
P.S. Yes, I teared up a few times. The kids are used to Mom crying over read-alouds haha
Reread March 2022:
Son (currently 8yo) read this aloud to me, taking turns, as his reader for school. It’s still such a sweet story and an excellent choice for an early fluent reader. I may see if he likes the sequels.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
Set on the American prairie in the late 19th Century, the story of Sarah is told from the point of view of Anna, whose mother died giving birth to Anna's younger brother. Years later, aising a family on a lonely farm, their father places a newspaper ad seeking a wife, and it is answered by Sarah of Maine, who describes herself a plain and tall.
This is a very sweet romance, in which almost all of the romantic elements take place off-screen. It's a story of a woman who seeks a relationship where she is an equal partner, something she puts to the test in the climactic chapters. And its a beautifully detailed tale of life on the American frontier.
I read this with the Kiddo (age 10) and it was one of his school summer reading choices. He particularly enjoyed the interactions involving the various animals on the farm.
This is a very sweet romance, in which almost all of the romantic elements take place off-screen. It's a story of a woman who seeks a relationship where she is an equal partner, something she puts to the test in the climactic chapters. And its a beautifully detailed tale of life on the American frontier.
I read this with the Kiddo (age 10) and it was one of his school summer reading choices. He particularly enjoyed the interactions involving the various animals on the farm.
Buddy read with Sarah for Battle of the Books. I remember reading this in elementary school. It's a sweet story about sadness and hope and family.
Another Little Free Library find. I'm surprised how much I remembered. The book is more of a series of scenes than a linear narrative, but those scenes are touching and have stayed with me for at least two decades.
The Whittings--father Jacob, daughter Anna, and youngest son Caleb--have been without a wife and mother since theirs died after giving birth to Caleb. They've had relatives and a housekeeper to help them, but now Jacob would like a wife. He places an advertisement in a newspaper back east and Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton of Maine responds. She loves the sea, but her brother has married and she wants a change. Anna and Caleb are charmed from her first letter, and Sarah is even better in person: she is plain and tall, as promised; she brings a cat and seashells; she draws, sings, is an excellent carpenter, is eager to learn how to plow and ride horses and drive the carriage, and she loves the farm. But Caleb is worried he's too talkative and pesky, and Anna can tell how much Sarah misses the sea. Will Sarah want to stay with the Whittings?
It's unusual to find such a simple, happy family story. Maybe that's not realistic, but it's nice to see, for once, a family that loves each other. Even Anna's thought that "it took three whole days for me to love [Caleb]" after her mother died (p. 6) says as much about her love at the time of the story as it does about her pain when she lost her mother. We get other, similarly unsugarcoated slices of life on the frontier, both the lighthearted moments and the hard reality of being lonely, miles away from neighbors and town. And I've remembered those emotions described by MacLachlan for years. I can still remember my first time reading this, being anxious right along with Anne and Caleb to find out whether Sara would leave or stay--and that kind of emotional staying power is rare.
Sarah, Plain and Tall is a plain and simple story packed with heart and full of family and love. If you haven't read it, you're missing out.
Disclaimer: I might have shared two of Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton's name in my younger years (with one changed letter) but that does not in any way impact my opinion of this story. ;-)
The Whittings--father Jacob, daughter Anna, and youngest son Caleb--have been without a wife and mother since theirs died after giving birth to Caleb. They've had relatives and a housekeeper to help them, but now Jacob would like a wife. He places an advertisement in a newspaper back east and Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton of Maine responds. She loves the sea, but her brother has married and she wants a change. Anna and Caleb are charmed from her first letter, and Sarah is even better in person: she is plain and tall, as promised; she brings a cat and seashells; she draws, sings, is an excellent carpenter, is eager to learn how to plow and ride horses and drive the carriage, and she loves the farm. But Caleb is worried he's too talkative and pesky, and Anna can tell how much Sarah misses the sea. Will Sarah want to stay with the Whittings?
It's unusual to find such a simple, happy family story. Maybe that's not realistic, but it's nice to see, for once, a family that loves each other. Even Anna's thought that "it took three whole days for me to love [Caleb]" after her mother died (p. 6) says as much about her love at the time of the story as it does about her pain when she lost her mother. We get other, similarly unsugarcoated slices of life on the frontier, both the lighthearted moments and the hard reality of being lonely, miles away from neighbors and town. And I've remembered those emotions described by MacLachlan for years. I can still remember my first time reading this, being anxious right along with Anne and Caleb to find out whether Sara would leave or stay--and that kind of emotional staying power is rare.
Sarah, Plain and Tall is a plain and simple story packed with heart and full of family and love. If you haven't read it, you're missing out.
Disclaimer: I might have shared two of Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton's name in my younger years (with one changed letter) but that does not in any way impact my opinion of this story. ;-)
Lovely. Kids loved it. Rhett picked up on all the nuances of the story that I wouldn't have necessarily expected.
This was a short and sweet book. This is one of three books I am looking at in the context of gender and gender roles and since I am looking at this books with that context it has shaped my rating slightly. The children have lost their mother and father has lost his wife. He puts an ad in the paper in hopes of finding someone to fill these roles and fill these voids. Why is though we feel they should and need to be filled?
Pretty good. I was surprised my boys wanted to read this (out of a stack of 8 options) but I think it's because it is short. They both enjoyed the story and it was fun to read it during the week of Blake's Pioneer Day Field Trip. I am so intrigued at how different their lives were back then - and possibly a tad jealous because it seems much simpler in some ways.
I might even get the companion book to read as well, this was too short. (May 2015)
We listened to this in the car and the audio book was really good. Isaac needed a historical fiction book for his 40-book list and I picked this because it's only 1 CD. We all really liked it. We might listen to the next story called Skylark. (July 2018)
I might even get the companion book to read as well, this was too short. (May 2015)
We listened to this in the car and the audio book was really good. Isaac needed a historical fiction book for his 40-book list and I picked this because it's only 1 CD. We all really liked it. We might listen to the next story called Skylark. (July 2018)
Certainly not my first reading of this book, but it never fails to hit me in the gut. This is probably the least flashy Newbery ever awarded, frankly. The story is simple and straightforward, filled with finely wrought emotion--grief, homesickness, hope, fondness, admiration--and the characters are lovable and memorable, if rather one-dimensional. MacLachlan's skill is in the recording of details that are both specific and universal in the way that we humans love. Always a pleasure to revisit this one.
Nostalgia read with my son. We’ve been reading a lot of Lemony Snicket and this was a nice change of pace. Sweet and quiet story. Caleb and Anna’s mother has died and their dad writes a letter seeking a possible bride. Sarah arrives from Maine to see if she is a good fit for the family. Sarah is very much her own person and does not change to fit in, but finds her own way to belong. Strong female character. I think I originally read this around the time I read the little house on the prairie books. Fits in with the theme of life on the prairies.