Very Fast | Sarah Plain And Tall [VHS] | Glenn Close, Christopher Walken

Great for ESL students | Sarah Plain And Tall [VHS] | Glenn Close, Christopher Walken

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	• Sarah Plain And Tall [VHS] Glenn Close, Christopher Walken Republic Pictures, 1995 average customer review:based on 177 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A tender tale of loss and love

This is one of the most touching and beautiful children's books I have ever read. It flows like poetry--rhythmic, melodic, yet able to capture profound emotion with just a few well chosen syllables.

The story is ostensibly about a mail-order bride who makes the journey from Maine to the dusty Great Plains in order to raise two motherless children. The children's sole desire is that Sarah be happy with them, and stay as their new mother. While the plot is simple, the range of feeling is not, for MacLachlin explores the mechanisms of human longing in all its forms--longing for comfort, for happiness, for home, and, most illusive of all, for perfection. The children strive, as all children do, for that perfection, hoping that, in the end, they will be rewarded with their heart's desire.

We have, over the past century, lost sight of the open generosity with which human beings can welcome one another into their lives. I hope, for the sake of all our children who are being bombarded with daily doses of TV mayhem, that we can spare a few moments to teach them MacLachlin's gentle lesson in acceptance and love.

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Very Fast

I recieved this video very quickly. We read the book in my classroom and I wanted to show them the video as a treat. It came fast.

Great for ESL students

I have used this book many times with ESL students of various ages (from 6th graders to adult) and levels. Like our students, Sarah leaves her familiar home behind and tries to fit in and adapt to new people and surroundings. As her neighbor tells her, There is always something to miss, where ever you go.(probably not an exact quote, but close.) Children love it because they see the story through the eyes of the children. Adults love it because there is so much in this little book that they can relate to.

It is also a great way to learn about parts of the United States and how people lived back then. It is not a very long book and has useful vocabulary. Sometimes after we read a chapter in class, we listen to the audio, read by Glenn Close, and if possible we watch the movie which is quite different and good for discussion.

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Taking Chances: Starting Over

Taking Chances: Starting Over

It is 1910 on the American prairie; in the Witting farmhouse life is difficult and devoid of many pleasures because Jacob, the father, is a widower with two children who need a mother. In desperation the lonely farmer advertises for a mail-order bride in a New England publication. Taking a life-changing chance Sarah--a spinster with no illusions about her personal attractiveness--writes back and after corresponding for a time agrees to migrate to the vast prairie--where the only waves that ripple are grain in the wind.

Anna and Caleb Whitting are pleased with their new stepmother, who gradually thaws to appreciate Jacob as her husband, but she secretly suffers from homesickness: for Yankee twang, salty air and in particular the motion of the restless waves. She does not appear to be settling in as the family would wish. Caleb in particular experiences great anxiety at the thought that she might abandon them and return to Maine. Will Sarah, who describes herself truthfully as "plain and tall" discover the hidden beauty of her new home--the landlocked prairie and even more importantly--in her woman's heart? An excellent story based on historical actuality, when human emotions were clearly defined and more freely expressed, in a simpler time and setting. For readers 11-15.

For readers who want more: The story of SARAH, a Newberry winner, is continued in SKYLARK (#2) and finally in CALEB'S STORY #3.

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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

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