Sarah, plain and tall

In the year 1910, New Englander Sarah Wheaton answers an ad for a mail-order bride placed by Kansas farmer Jacob Witting, a widower rearing two children. She begins a 30 day trial period as their guest and enthusiastically assumes all motherly responsibilities. As the days pass, this lonely, motherless family gradually opens their hearts to Sarah and slowly comes to terms with their painful past. Their lives again become spontaneous and magical. Love...

Sequel to: Skylark. The stranger lurking on the Witting family's prairie farm turns out to be their long-lost grandfather, whose presence plus prodding from Sarah forces Jacob to deal with his past.

A prairie wedding and then a funeral bring together extended family and friends in the fifth and final volume in the historical fiction series that started with the exquisite Newbery Medal Book Sarah Plain and Tall (1985). Once again, heartwarming is the word for the story, which is always true to a child's viewpoint. The narrator here is Sarah's daughter, Cassie, a fourth-grader in the prairie school of six pupils, and the core drama is the close,...