Amazon.com: The most-watched made-for-television movie of the 1990s (50 million viewers upon first broadcast in 1991), this fine adaptation of Patricia MacLachlan's novel stars Glenn Close as Sarah, a Maine schoolteacher who responds to a Kansas farmer's newspaper ad seeking a bride. Set in 1910, the story follows Sarah's trial run as stepmother to the children of the widowed Jacob Witting (Christopher Walken). The tough part of the experiment is the conflicting expectations the would-be couple have over Sarah's role in the household. The kids, too, have their doubts about a substitute for their mother, and Jacob isn't ready, emotionally, for a new beginning. But in short order the strong-willed Sarah brings happiness and vitality into the house, and love and understanding eventually blossom between the two lonely adults. Everything is right about this Hallmark production, from a bright script cowritten by MacLachlan to Glenn Jordan's sensitive direction and a pair of first-rate leads making every moment worth watching. A wholesome tale from the heartland, this is a good movie for any viewing situation, from an audience of one to an entire family. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Plain is Right...
First off, let me clarify in my personal response that I've never been a fan of the historical fiction genre. Historical fiction books bore me, and they never seem to contain the excitement found in contemporary fiction. Sarah, Plain and Tall, while more character-centric than most historical fiction books, still just didn't catch my interest. I was just glad that unlike many historical fiction books, this one actually didn't shove random historical facts down the readers' throats in massive clumps--the historical details were there, but very subtle. Still, the plot was too plain, with not ... Read More
Rating: - awesome
This is a great book that leaves you with a good feeling when you finish. A warm story of motherless children who wish to have a mother and want to help their father to find one. She is from the coast and he is a farmer... could this work? Read the book I recommend it.
Anna del C.
Author of "The Elf and the Princess"
and "Trouble in the Elf City"
The Elf and The Princess: The Silent Warrior Trilogy - Book One (The Silent Warrior Trilogy)
Rating: - 8 year old kids's review of Sarah, Plain and Tall
The story of Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLaclan is a pioneer fiction about a family who needs a mother and a wife, and a lady who needs a home. It is sad, funny, happy, scary, exciting, and keeps me guessing.
Jacob Witting needs a helpful, hardworking wife and a mother for his young children Anna and Caleb. He puts an ad for a wife in the newspaper. He receives a response from Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton of Maine. In the early spring, Jacob goes to the train station to bring Sarah home. He dresses up and makes his hair very slick and shiny.
Sarah Wheaton makes herself ... Read More
Rating: - Wonderful book!
This was one of the selected literature books for our home-school curriculum. We were delighted with this lovely book. It inspired us to watch the movie and order the rest of the books in the series. Very interesting story line.
Rating: - Not for fourth graders...
I read this in fourth grade and I don't think I was mature enough to read it. As soon as I found out that Sarah was not beautiful for some reason or another I thought that she was not worth paying attention to, so therefore I got zilch from this book. It wasn't even that I was an immature fourth grader, I was already reading adult books that were 400 pages long. So I just thought I'd put my two cents in...
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