Sarah, Plain and Tall

Bibliography
MacLachlan, Sarah. 1985. Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Inc. ISBN: 0064402053.

Plot Summary
Caleb and Anna’s mother died just after Caleb was born. Caleb and Anna’s father, who is a farmer, advertises for bride in the newspaper. He receives a letter from Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton of Maine who agrees to come and stay with them for a month before they can decide to get married. Sarah describes herself as plain and tall and that she is. Anna and Caleb instantly fall in love with her. She tells them stories about her family in Maine and describes the life by the sea to them. The children who have only seen the prairie farms are amazed by her stories of the sea. Anna and Caleb know that Sarah misses her home in Maine and are worried that Sarah will leave. Sarah leaves one day for town and the children are worried she will never come back. The children are delighted when Sarah returns and marries their father.

Critical Analysis
Patricia MacLachlan has written an adorable and heart warming story. It is a short story that carries a lot of delicate emotions. The children’s memories of their mother and the family’s loneliness without a mother and wife can be somewhat sad for younger children. But the story quickly becomes lively when Sarah arrives on the farm to live with the family. Anna and Caleb are very loveable characters and readers will hope along with them that Sarah stays with them for good. The children’s longing for motherly love has been handled very beautifully in this story.

The timeline when the story happens, the language, the settings make this a classic historical fiction story. Children will find it amusing to read about how people lived, what they wore, what work they did, what kind of transportation they had, and how they communicated with somebody living far away.