A woman from Maine answers a prairie farmer's letter, and two children hope she will stay
A new mother from the sea
Anna and her little brother, Caleb, live with their father on a prairie farm. Their mother died the day after Caleb was born, and the house has been quiet ever since. When Papa advertises for a wife, a woman named Sarah writes back from Maine, describing herself as plain and tall. She comes for a month to see if she likes them, bringing her cat and her love of the sea.
Who will enjoy it
Young readers, families reading aloud together and anyone who loves gentle stories about family and home.
What you will get
A short, luminous classic about grief, hope and choosing a family, with simple words and quiet beauty that make it perfect for reading aloud.
Sarah, Plain and Tall Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Prairie · Family · New beginnings
Length
112 pages · ≈ 3 h
More about this book
Anna tells the story. She still remembers her mother, who sang every day, but Caleb, who never knew her, keeps asking about her singing. Papa has stopped singing too. One evening he tells them he has put an advertisement in the newspapers for a wife, and a letter arrives from Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton of Maine. She writes that she is plain and tall, that she has a cat named Seal and that she will come by train in the spring to visit for a month.
When Sarah arrives in a yellow bonnet, she brings shells, stories and the colors of the sea. She learns to plow, to fix the roof and to drive the wagon, plays with the children in a dune of hay, and teaches them about the ocean she misses so much. Anna and Caleb fall in love with her quickly and watch anxiously for signs that she might leave. A fierce summer storm and a trip alone to town make them fear the worst. The ending is quiet, simple and deeply satisfying.
Very short and gentle, ideal for a single evening. About 112 pages in the anniversary edition, followed by Skylark.
Little House on the Prairie
Anne of Green Gables
Little House in the Big Woods
The Hundred Dresses
Inside Out & Back Again
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Llama Llama Mad at Mama
Make Way for Ducklings
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Guess How Much I Love You
Mama, Do You Love Me?
Stone Soup