Sarah, Plain and Tall

I read this back in middle school I think.
It's one of those books that always stays with you and seems to pop up in random conversation. Anna has a great voice, and seeing Sarah through her eyes is a great experience. She has to accept this woman who is not he mother, but loves them just the same.

Reader reviewed by Amanda D.


"Sarah, Plain and Tall" is a beautiful story set in the late 1800's. Jacob lives with his children, Anna and Caleb, on their farm. He was widowed when his wife died giving birth to Caleb. He decides to place an ad for a wife. A woman named Sarah from Maine answers. She comes and slowly earns the children's love, their father's coming even slower. Their life is totally different from hers. It's hot and dry, while in Maine it's cool, green, and there's the sea. There's no hard work and no worries. She can't decide whether to return to her beloveed Maine or stay with the people she's grown to love.

I love this book because of it's depiction of life in the late 1800's. It's a sweet love story with family values. It gives kids the knowledge of this time period and shows the treasure of love.

Reader reviewed by Bookworm9

"Sarah, Plain and Tall" is narrated by Anna, a young girl whose widowed father sends for a mail-order bride from Maine. Sarah, the perspective bride, adds a breath of fresh air to the life of Anna, her younger brother Caleb, and their reticent father, Jacob. But will Sarah's homesickness for her family and the sea cause her to leave before the wedding?

Told in spare but moving language, this book tells about the forming of a family in a simplistic but moving way.