Sarah, plain and tall

When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.

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,...