Sarah, Plain, and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan

Some stories arrive quietly and stay with you forever. This is one of them.

Winner of the Newbery Medal, Sarah, Plain and Tall is a small book with an enormous heart. Set on the prairie in the late nineteenth century, it’s told through the eyes of young Anna, who—along with her little brother Caleb—waits and wonders. Their Papa has placed an advertisement for a wife and mother, and a woman named Sarah is coming all the way from the coast of Maine to answer it.

Will she be kind? Will she sing? Will she stay?

We have a soft spot for Sarah here in the cove—after all, she comes from our own salty shores, carrying a longing for the sea onto the wide-open plains. Patricia MacLachlan writes with language so spare and lovely it reads almost like poetry, gently turning over themes of loss, belonging, and the quiet ways a family becomes whole.

A beloved classic for readers young and old, this one sits comfortably beside Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books. Perfect for fans of historical fiction and timeless family stories.

This special anniversary edition includes a few treasures worth lingering over:

• Patricia MacLachlan’s Newbery acceptance speech
• A discussion guide, wonderful for classrooms and book clubs
• A curated reading list to carry you onward

And if this story steals your heart—as we suspect it will—there are four more Witting family books waiting on the shelf: Skylark, Caleb’s Story, More Perfect than the Moon, and Grandfather’s Dance.

Come find the whole series. We’d love to help you begin.

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