Module 4 - Sarah, Plain and Tall

Module 4 – Sarah, Plain and Tall

*image from: http://www.en.wikipedia.org

Sarah, Plain and Tall
by: Patricia MacLachlan

MacLachlan, P. (1985). Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.

Summary:

This is a story about a woman who comes to fulfill a hole left by a wonderful mother who dies. The family is in a bare, cold place and they want her to be able to fill their void. She comes from the sea and this family hadn’t experienced it at all. They come from the land and they want her to understand their way of life. She misses her home and she doesn’t fit in right away but as time goes on she and this little family come to a great place of understanding.

Impressions of the Book:

I actually saw this story as the Hallmark movie before I took up the novel. I loved they way Glenn Close played Sarah. She was so tall so “out there” and she was their mother and wife. At first you knew she didn’t feel accepted but the different things that happen in the story help her and the father and kids learn to love her and want her. I cried during this movie and book. It is so good and so real; the characters aren’t fake, they are genuine people. This book is very deserving of the Newbery book award.

Ways to use in the Library:

This would be a great story read aloud for an older grade level such as 4th or 5th grade. Then the librarian could show the film so the students could compare the two. They could show their feeling and interpretations through writing, poetry, and drawings.

Reviews:

-from: http://www.amazon.com

Amazon.com Review

MacLachlan, author of Unclaimed Treasures, has written an affecting tale for children. In the late 19th century a widowed midwestern farmer with two children--Anna and Caleb--advertises for a wife. When Sarah arrives she is homesick for Maine, especially for the ocean which she misses greatly. The children fear that she will not stay, and when she goes off to town alone, young Caleb--whose mother died during childbirth--is stricken with the fear that she has gone for good. But she returns with colored pencils to illustrate for them the beauty of Maine, and to explain that, though she misses her home, "the truth of it is I would miss you more." The tale gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Glenn Close narrates Patricia MacLachlan's beautiful novels on this fine audio collection. Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of Sarah, who came from Maine to answer Jacob's advertisement for a wife and mother, all from the point of view of young Anna. The classic story continues in Skylark, as Anna and her brother, Caleb, must travel with their new mother, Sarah, to Maine when a terrible drought threatens their home. Caleb picks up the story several years later in Caleb's Story, telling of the return of his grandfather, who had abandoned the family when Caleb's father was a young boy. Close, who played the role of Sarah in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of the first book, creates distinct voices for each character without ever resorting to theatrics. Anna and Caleb's voices mature as listeners progress through the stories, and Close's carefully unobtrusive narration showcases MacLachlan's simple yet poetic words. An interview with Patricia MacLachlan at the end of the collection gives students more information about the author's life and writing process, and about the real-life inspiration for Sarah. A beautiful collusion of an excellent story with a perfect narrator, and a treat for all listeners.

Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

"An exquisite, sometimes painfully touching tale." -- -- The New York Times

"In a near-perfect miniature novel, two children experience the apprehensions and joys of the possibility of a new mother..." -- -- BL.

"Terse writing and poetic rhythm flow to create a tender story about the fragile beginnings of a family relationship..." -- -- School Library Journal