Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

In this classic Newbery Medal winner, Anna and her little brother Caleb wait expectantly for Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton to come from Maine. She will come by train, wear a yellow bonnet, and she is plain and tall. Sarah also is potentially going to be their new mother. Everyone is excited when Sarah comes from the sea with her cat, Seal. But there’s no sea where they are – only prairie. Anna and Caleb want Sarah to stay, but will she?

Length: 58 pages
Read-Aloud age: 5+

LJR’s Thoughts on Sarah, Plain and Tall

It’s the late nineteenth century. Anna and her little brother Caleb, along with their Papa, are getting along fine enough even though their mother died in childbirth after having Caleb. It’s clear that it’s been several years but Caleb loves hearing about the mother he doesn’t remember and his older sister. Despite reason to feel resentful toward her brother, Anna clearly loves her little brother, has fond memories of her lost mother, and loves her father.

Sarah, Plain and Tall is a heart-warming book for the whole family to bundle around for a quick read-aloud. We read this to our 5, 7, and 9 year old. Despite it not having a big mystery to solve or high-stakes adventure, all of them loved the story.

This is the first book in a series. LJR hasn’t done reviews for all of them yet but you can check out reviews of the series on Redeemed Reader.

LJR recommends this book as a “must read” with little reservation. See below for things your littles may be sensitive to.

LJR Rating

Pink circle with blue thumbs up in the middle

Noteworthy for Sarah, Plain and Tall

In our usual LJR fashion, we try to find anything that Christian families may want to know about ahead of time to address, skip, or dig deeper into. Take a look at what we found below and even look for our take on Discipleship Opportunities at the bottom of the review.

As mentioned above, Anna and Caleb’s mom is said to have died while giving birth to Caleb.
It may seem odd to your kiddos that Papa is searching for a mail-order bride although letters go back and forth beforehand.
When Sarah comes to visit, she stays at their house but clearly has her own bed/space.
They find a lamb on the farm who has died and turkey buzzards that have shown up to eat it are shooed away.
A squall comes through the prairie and may seem a little scary for young, sensitive readers but the descriptions are not graphic and the scene is short. Everyone is fine afterward (including animals)
Near the end of the book, Sarah kisses Anna, Caleb, and Papa. It doesn’t give any indication that it’s a romantic kiss she gives Papa.

Discipleship Opportunities for Sarah, Plain and Tall

Throughout the book, Caleb is worried that Sarah is going to leave. He even gives some reasons why he is worried she won’t stay. But is this something we need to worry about when it comes to God? Specifically, look into Hebrews 13:5-6.

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