Skylark (Sarah, Plain and Tall)

I remember liking this children's historical fiction book even more than the one before it, Sarah, Plain and Tall, when I read them as a child. Would I still love Skylark that much, reading it again as an adult?

Well. I'm pretty sure I love it more now, having the benefit of my current perspective added to the memory of my childhood heart.

It's a simple but substantive story of family, written with a light yet poignant touch. You really do feel the sting of the Wittings' multifaceted struggle. When there are tears, they're relatable. When there's laughter, it's refreshing. The Wittings' bonds are growing and deepening—including the grown-up love between Sarah and Jacob, witnessed through Anna's young but perceptive eyes.

Back when I read show more the first two books, the rest of this series didn't exist yet. So I'll soon be checking out more about the Witting family for the first time. show less

If you liked Sarah, Plain and Tall, you'll like Skylark. The Witting's prairie farm is experiencing a terrible drought, which tests Sarah's resolve as she thinks of her family in lush, green Maine where she grew up. Eventually Papa sends her and the two children, Anna and Caleb, to her Maine family for relief while he labors to save the farm. The four's strong love for one another threads throughout this spare, evocative book, a worthy sequel to the first. I'll be reading the next one, Caleb's Story. MacLachlan's ability to convey so much with so few words is impressive.

Their father and Sarah have married, but Anna and Caleb still find life difficult on the plains when a drought threatens their farm and neighbors start moving away when the wells run dry.

Rereading the first two books in this series as an adult has been delightful. I wonder if MacLachlan's spare style and way of sketching a story in broad strokes and leaving the reader's imagination to fill in the details impacted what I look for in a story now. I remembered most of what happened in [Skylark], but it was surprising to me to realize that the part that I remembered most (when Sarah and the kids traveled to Maine) was actually a small percentage of the whole story. Now I'm wondering how much of my memories are affected by the movie, which I show more want to go back and revisit as well. show less

This is a sweet follow up to the first book. The books are so short, focusing on just a snapshot of time in the family’s life, but yet they include so much.

Anna and her family are troubled by the drought, and she knows that Sarah doesn’t love the plains like she loves the seashore, and so she is worried. She’s worried about her dad, the farm, Sarah, and what might happen if it doesn’t rain. She sees conflict between her dad and her new mom, and has to come to grips with the world as it really is. She’s surrounded by love and is well cared for, and has the wonderful opportunity to visit Sarah’s Maine home, but her dad and the farm is always in the back of her mind.

This book would provide an interesting jumping off point for show more a conversation with my kids about how much certainty existed in life during this time, how patient they had to be waiting for word from dad, how scarcity of water could change your whole life over the course of a few months, the idea that a dry well meant your family had to move, how Anna had no idea where she was going to school at the end of the summer, all things that could provide an interesting new perspective on the world. show less

Skylark by Patricia Maclachlan is a sequel to Sarah Plain and Tall, and here I got to catch up with the family that was such a delight to read about. In this book, the family is feeling complete, strong and happy in their being together and now having Sarah as their wife and mother. But things are not perfect, there is trouble however in the lack of rain. This is the prairies and crops, animals and people rely on the rain to supply the water that is needed. As the drought goes on, and neighbours around them are pulling out the tension increases. Eventually the father, Jacob, decides it will be best if Sarah takes the children to visit her aunts in Maine on an extended holiday.

At first Sarah and the children delight in the greenness of show more Maine and the happiness of being with the relatives. They are amazed by the ocean and much of their time on the beach or out in a boat. But as the newness wears off, they all start to miss Jacob and their home. As time passes, they become more and more concerned about when they will be able to go home. Of course, Jacob is missing them tremendously and comes for them as soon as rain finally arrives on the prairies.

This book is a very quick read, being about100 pages, but it reminds one of the strength and comfort one finds in family. The author has a flair for being able to paint life’s tender moments in a true and touching manner. Quite simply Skylark was a joy to read. show less

Patricia McLachlan is a true literary magician..... her work packs such a punch in very few words. Her simplistic, no words wasted style has a surprising depth. With likable characters and an interesting setting, this is a series to be enjoyed by young and old alike.

Sarah came to the prairie from Maine to marry Papa. But that summer, a drought turned the land dry and brown. Fires swept across the fields and coyotes came to the well in search of water. So Sarah took Anna and Caleb back east, where they would be safe. Papa stayed behind. He would not leave his land.

Maine was beautiful, but Anna missed home, and Papa. And as the weeks went by, she began to wonder what would happen if the rains never came. Would she and Caleb and Sarah and Papa ever be a family again?