Patricia MacLachlan

Although their homes are different, a grandmother in New England and her loving grandson in Africa share the same moon.

A mother relates how she spent time before her child arrived, then passes on a gift of days paddling a red canoe, reading in a pillow-filled hammock until dark, and watching the moon rise at night.

On a farm in the middle of the prairie, ten-year-old Sylvie struggles to understand why her mother gave up singing on stage while she sets off on an adventure of her own as the town reporter.

Caleb, left to record events on the Witting family's prairie farm after Anna goes to live in town, tells of the difficult reconciliation between his father, Jacob, and his grandfather who left when Jacob was a young boy and has now returned.

As Emma grieves the loss of her grandfather, she reflects on their shared love of birdwatching.

When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.

"Sarah, Plain and Tall:" A mail-order bride from Maine travels to Kansas in 1910 to join a widower, John Witting, and his two children. "Skylark:" The Witting family is tested first by drought and then by separation, as Sarah and the children are forced to leave their Kansas farm to join Sarah's aunts in Maine while Jacob remains behind to try to save their livelihood. "Sarah Plain and Tall: Winter's End:" Having abandoned his family decades ago,...

A mysterious stranger appears at the Kansas farm of Jacob and Sarah Witting. The stranger is Jacob's father, John, who abandoned him and his mother when he was a child. Although John establishes relationships with Sarah and his grandchildren, he struggles to reconcile with his son. Third part of a trilogy.