Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Winner, 1986 Newbery Award
Quick Summary
Anna and Caleb get to know and love Sarah, the mail-order bride from Maine that their widowed father invites to live with them in their prairie home.
Favorite Quote
There are always things to miss," said Maggie. "No matter where you are."
About the Author
Patricia MacLachlan is the author of numerous children's books. She was born in Wyoming, but lived in Massachusetts most of her life. (She keeps a bag of prairie dirt to remind herself of what she knew first.) Her stories frequently focus on families in realistic situations. Sarah, Plain and Tall was based on a true event in her family history.
My Project
For this project, I wanted to focus on Sarah as an artist who sketches in charcoal and pencil. I used colored pencils in blues, greens, and gray to create a landscape of wavy lines. I kept the setting details deliberately vague, so that the scene could be the sea where she used to live in Maine (all the varied colors of a sea and sky during a storm) or the prairie (rows of green fields and blue sky) of her current home. I added a light wash of ivory paint to the background to give it the same subdued, quiet feel of the book. I made Sarah's yellow sunbonnet with layers of slightly different yellow paper (the top layer has a faint woven pattern; the bottom layer is plain). I add punched holes and a flower cut-out for details to give it an old-fashioned quilted look.
Final Thoughts
This book felt very quiet with a subtle undercurrent of sadness, anxiety, and wistfulness throughout as the children, despite the happy times with Sarah, worry that she will leave them as their mother has. (Not in the same way, of course, but with the same lonely results.) It's very short (less than 60 pages), but packs a solid emotional punch. This book became the start of a trilogy about the family. In 1991 it was made into a Hallmark movie starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken.
If you read this book, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.