Sarah,+Plain+and+Tall

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan Sarah, Plain and Tall is a fiction chapter book about a family of three who live inthe mid west, Papa, Anna and Caleb, whose mother died after giving birth to Caleb. Papa puts an ad in the newspaper recruiting a new housekeeper/potiential wife. A woman named Sarah from Maine answers Papa's ad and decides to try living with the family. The children instantly fall in love with Sarah's plain ways and mysterious past. The main conflict of this stroy is whether or not Sarah will stay and live with Anna Caleb and Papa because her love for the sea leaves her homesick and this is in every chapter in one way or another.

The literary element I chose to analyze for this story is Sarah's character development. In the beginning of the story we learn that Sarah is a young single woman who lives by the sea and that this is a big part of her life. As the story progresses we learn that Sarah is not helpless, she is a strong woman who knows how to do things and likes to do carpentry work and paint. We are taken drom time to time into Sarahs personal life and we see bits and pieces of emotion, mainly sadness because she misses home. I think that the cahracter develepment of Sarah is a significant part of how the story is told and understood. She also has a very clear voice and tone throughout the piece.

I enjoyed this book, and being the second time I read it I enjoyed it even more. I chose this book partly because I remembered reading it when I was in school and I wanted to revisit it. I thing that this book can provide a new outlook on a "new experience" for kids, such as relocating and starting over. I think that this book would be a good pick for 3-5 grade students, being a chapter book, it allows the students to take their time and really read and reflect on each chapter and its importance to the plot of the story.

MacLachlan, Patricia. //Sarah, Plain and Tall//. New York: Harper & Row, 1987. Print.

Patricia MacLachlan is an American children's writer. She is best known for the 1986 Newbery Medal winning novel Sarah, Plain and Tall which was later adapted as a TV movie starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken. MacLachlan attended the University of Connecticut. She is a board member of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, a national not-for-profit that actively advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries.