Sarah, Plain and Tall

Patricia MacLachlan A Newbery Award Winner Paperback Series: Sarah, Plain and Tall JUVENILE FICTION/Historical / United States / 19th Century

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

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. 

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

• Mail-Order Bride Story: Papa needs a wife, and Anna and Caleb need a mother. But Sarah Wheaton is from Maine, a world away from their quiet life on the plains.
• A Brother and Sister’s Hope: Anna remembers her mother, but Caleb, who never knew her, has one important question about the woman coming to live with them: Will she sing?
• Vivid Prairie Setting: Discover the quiet beauty of the American frontier, where the land "rolls a little like the sea" but Sarah still misses her home.
• A Heartwarming Classic: A gentle and moving chapter book that explores love, loss, and what it means to become a family.