Sarah, Plain and Tall

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(realistic/historical)

Sarah, Plain and Tall

by Patricia MacLachlan

This book was about a girl named Anna, her brother Caleb, and their father who live on a farm. Their mother died the day she gave birth to Caleb. Now that the kids are older they miss their mother even more. Jacob, their father, puts an ad in the newspaper for a wife. He gets a letter from a woman named Sarah who lives by the sea in Maine. Sarah comes and stays with them and Anna, Caleb, and Jacob all love her instantly. Sarah is very tough and headstrong and likes to do things her own way. Anna and Caleb worry everyday that she will go back home to Maine because she misses the sea. One day Sarah goes to town, and Anna and Caleb don't think she will come back home. However, at dusk they see her wagon pull up and she is back from town and she brought them presents. She agrees to the wedding with Jacob and becomes their new mother. I would use this book in the classroom to teach my kids about family diversity. Many kids can relate to having only one parent, or their parent getting remarried and they get a new mom or dad. This book will inform them about single parent families and let them know they are not the only one in that situation.