Guide Note

Sarah, Plain and Tall is a childrens novel written by Patricia MacLachlan.

Fast Facts

1. Author: Patricia MacLachlan
2. Illustrator: Marcia Sewell
3. Genre: Children's Books
4. Publication Date: 1985
5. Publisher: HarperCollins
6. Pages: 64
7. ISBN 978-0064402057
8. Awards/Distinctions: 1986 Newbery Medal
9. Adaptations: Hallmark Movie

Set in the 19th Century in Kansas, Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of the young mail order bride Sarah and her longing for home. She rides a train to meet a widow with two children, and the children fear that she will leave them as their mother did. Sarah he stays and bonds with the children, and marries the widow.

• "The story closes on a scene of love and harmony made more complicated, but not diminished, by past sorrows. This gentle book cannot fail to touch readers." - Martha Saxton, The New York Times
• "MacLachlan keeps the uncertainty alive while building Sarah's value to the family. This creates a tension that hinges on Sarah’s character, not on some superficial crisis of action. The climax of the story is brilliantly withheld until the last, four words of the story." - Valued Minds Review