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 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. ( )

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?

In the second book of the Sarah, Plain and Tall series we get to see Sarah and Jacob settling in as a family after their marriage. Sarah's heart is with her new family, but she doesn't love the land yet. A draught and a trip home to her beloved Maine helps her to find the peace she needs. A beautiful addition to the series. ( )

very good - Katrina

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 want to go back and revisit as well. ( )