SuitabookHome and belonging
Sarah does not love the prairie, while Anna misses it after returning east and remembers Papa.
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Book details
Patricia MacLachlan - Author
A quiet family story about being separated from home and a parent during environmental hardship. Anna’s longing and uncertainty provide the emotional centre, while the prairie setting brings drought, fire and questions about belonging.
*My mother, Sarah, doesn't love the prairie. She tries, but she can't help remembering what she knew first.* 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? 2nd in the Sarah, Plain and Tall series.
Book Brief
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Sign in for personalised guidanceA quiet family story about being separated from home and a parent during environmental hardship. Anna’s longing and uncertainty provide the emotional centre, while the prairie setting brings drought, fire and questions about belonging.
Sarah does not love the prairie, while Anna misses it after returning east and remembers Papa.
Sarah takes the children east because of dangerous conditions, while Papa stays behind and will not leave his land.
The prairie becomes dry and brown; fires cross the fields, and coyotes approach the well for water.
The book may suit a reader interested in relationships, place and emotional change. Pay attention to how Sarah’s memories, Papa’s decision and Anna’s feelings shape the family’s predicament.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the current material supports only a cautious reading; another book-specific source is still needed.
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