Sarah, Plain and Tall
Recommended. Age: 9+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Anna and Caleb live on a farm, and their mother has died. Their papa writes a letter asking for a new wife, and Sarah comes from far away by the sea. Sarah is kind and brave, and the children hope she will stay. The story is gentle, but it is a little sad because the children miss their mother. It is a short book that is good for the whole family. A very short, very fine book about a family being made whole again through marriage. Nothing in it needs correcting. Nothing in it mentions God either, so the goodness here is natural, not supernatural.
For parents
Read aloud from six. Independent reading from eight, and it sits in Memoria Press's third grade set, though Common Sense Media says nine. The mother died before the story opens, and a lamb dies. A child who has lost a parent may feel this one deeply, so read it together. Ask: why does Sarah stay even though she misses the sea? Talk about marriage as a promise that builds a home, and about how a family is a gift from God (CCC 2201 to 2203).